


Promise Me We'll See the Stars

by RedJuliet



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Flirting, Awkward Flirting, But he's okay and there is lots of fluff, Childhood Friends, Cuban Lance (Voltron), First Date, First Kiss, Flashbacks, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hunk is an amazing friend, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith and Lance actually talk about stuff, Lance gets praised, Lance is precious, Lance is tortured, Lance worries he's not important, Langst, Love Confessions, M/M, Makeouts, Pining Lance (Voltron), Protective Blue Lion, Season 2 spoilers, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), Truth Spells, pidge is so done, they/them pronouns for Pidge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-22 03:22:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 36,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9580313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedJuliet/pseuds/RedJuliet
Summary: Lance paled. He tried to digest what Keith had just said because if he was under the effect of some sort of weird alien magic, how long would it last? Crap, what if it never wore off? He felt sick again.Keith actually placed a hand on his shoulder and Lance tensed because it was warm and steady, and every part of him wanted to lean into that touch instead of pull away like he should have. The next words that come out of his mouth were probably the worst he could have said.“I bet you don’t even remember when we first met.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Major season 2 spoilers ahead.

The dining hall was quiet. Too quiet. Lance picked up his spoon for the third time and watched the gelatinous green ooze slowly drip back down into the bowl. He hadn’t put a single spoonful into his mouth despite the fact he sat down over an hour ago. He wasn’t really hungry, but the routine was supposed to keep his mind off of things. Only, it wasn’t working. 

Shiro’s strange and sudden disappearance had shaken the whole team to their very foundations. They had defeated Zarkon, the universe’s biggest threat, and yet it felt like they had lost. There was no trace of their leader. Black was silent, and Allura couldn’t pick up a trace on Shiro anywhere. 

Nobody slept. The nervous energy led to a lot of arguments and speculations about what happened and what to do next. It was almost as if the bond that had kept them together as a team was fractured, and Lance could almost feel it start to break apart.

Pidge hadn’t left their room in days. Hunk no longer spent time experimenting in the kitchen. In fact, Lance hadn’t heard him complain about being hungry in days. Allura never left the command room. She had dark circles under her eyes only highlighted by the blue glow of the screens around her. And Keith? When he wasn’t silently brooding, he and Lance were constantly at each other’s throats. 

Lance wanted to look into the Galra and Zarkon, and find out more about the strange magic he used before they summoned that wicked fiery sword. He had sworn he saw it envelop the Black Lion before they ended the fight. There was something weird with Zarkon and Shiro and their connection to Black. But Keith said he was looking in the wrong direction, that they should be finding out more about the lions themselves and their creation, and figuring out why Black wasn’t powering back on. 

Lance had never felt so incredibly lost in his life. Their story had ended but it wasn’t the ending any of them had wanted. The next pages were blank. Where did they go from here?

He let his spoon drop to the bowl where it clanged loudly in the empty room. He pushed his chair back until he was balanced on two legs and looked up at the ceiling. He saw Hunk’s frame from the corner of his eye hesitate in the doorway. 

“Lance? You uh…?” Hunk trailed off and gestured towards the dining table. He looked tired, even upside down. His usual store of overly anxious energy wasn’t even there anymore. 

Lance let his chair fall forward again onto all four legs. “Not hungry. How’s the ship?” 

Hunk shrugged and stepped further into the room. “Coran said repairs should be done in like, two quintants give or take? I told him we might need to repair some of the outer plating on the ship, and the X1-3 radiator has a damaged cooling panel—"

“Hunk, man. You’re doing it again,” Lance held up his hands just in time to stop his best friend from going on about boring technical crap that went way over his head.

“Sorry,” Hunk shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked like he wanted to say something, but the silence stretched on until it was uncomfortable. And it had _never_ been uncomfortable with Hunk before. 

Lance groaned and raked his hands through his hair. “This is stupid! You know what?” He stood up from his chair and pointed a finger dramatically at Hunk. Before he could answer Lance continued. 

“We’re going to get together and do another team building exercise. You, me, Pidge, and… and Keith.”

“Not to burst your bubble, but I don’t think you’ll really be able to drag Pidge out let alone Keith. And your last team building exercise sort of ended…uh…” Hunk gestured vaguely.

“Awesomely? I mean look at us! If I hadn’t dragged you out that night we never would have found out about Voltron. We never would have piloted giant mechanized lions or become space badasses fighting as a giant robot against purple death aliens trying to take over the universe! P-r-e-t-t-y _awesome_ ,” Lance rested one hand against his hip and flourished his other hand outwards. 

There was a beat of silence before Hunk sighed. “There’s nothing I can to do stop you, is there?” 

“Nope,” Lance let the word pop on his lips before he grinned. He reached out and jovially slapped Hunk on his back before he pushed them towards the door. Hunk of course was a lot stronger than him and easily could have rooted himself in place or said no, but he went along anyway and that was why Lance loved the guy. There was a resigned anxiety in Hunk’s eyes, but it was more familiar than his earlier expression.

One down, two to go. 

Lance led them towards Pidge’s room as he bounced ideas off Hunk. “What about red light green light? Oh! We could do it in the Lions. Or, ghost in the graveyard—more like, Galra in the galaxy? Hunk, what’s that look for?”

“Lance—”

“No wait! We’ll just go for tried and true,” Lance waved his arms as he talked, and deliberately ignored Hunk’s skeptical looks. “We drag everyone to the space station on Severin and find space pizza. They’ve gotta have something like pizza, right?” 

Hunk rubbed the back of his head but Lance could see a faint spark of curiosity in his eyes. “You know space pizza sounds awesome, but I don’t think you can convince Pidge to abort—” 

“Ah-ah-ah, you leave that to me,” Lance wagged his finger before he stepped up to Pidge’s door. The door was on autolock, but he knew that Pidge was inside. He could hear the soft clacking of keys on the other side of the door. He knocked. And then knocked again when there was no answer. His smile slipped and he knocked a little louder. 

“Pidge! My favorite computer genius, open up! We’ve got a very important mission to go on.” When there was still no answer, Lance tried again, “Pidgeeeee,” he whined in his best annoying little brother voice that never failed in his family. 

“Go away, Lance,” Pidge’s voice came from the other side of the door. The typing didn’t stop.

Lance gasped audibly and looked to Hunk with slight hurt. 

“I tried a couple of times, too,” Hunk shrugged, “Left some food out but when I came back it was untouched.” 

Lance frowned as he turned back to the door. Pidge had to eat something. Or at least get out of their room. Everybody wanted to find Shiro, but if they got sick or hurt it would only make things worse.

“I’m not giving up,” he started to bang on Pidge’s door, occasionally stopping to whine their name. Constant annoyance seemed to work with the kid. “Pidge,” Lance crooned as he leaned heavily on the door, “Think about all the—”

Lance was interrupted as he heard a loud groan or maybe a murderous scream from the other side of the door. And then there was no door, and he was falling forward. He made an admittedly ungraceful noise halfway between a shriek and a gasp as his support was removed and he crashed on the floor.

“What do you want? Because you better have a good reason for interrupting me and acting like a three year old,” Pidge glared at him, arms crossed as they waited for an answer. 

Lance pushed himself up and dusted himself off mostly for show. Pidge’s floor wasn’t really dirty. Even in the dim light from the computer, he could see the same dark circles under Pidge's eyes as Allura, and despite their crossed arms he could see the way their hands shook. 

“When was the last time you stood up from your floor and got something to eat?” Lance shared a glance with Hunk who hesitantly stepped into the room. 

“I’m not hungry,” Pidge pushed their glasses up and glanced over at the device on the floor that was emitting a low hum. There were two dials and a speaker, and next to the radio a set of large screens all filled with rows and rows of code connected to their main computer. 

Lance frowned. Pidge definitely hadn’t eaten in at least two days and he doubted they had slept much if any. “Hungry or not, you still have to eat something. So, we’re all going to Severin to find space pizza,” he continued before they could interject, “Think about all of the incredible alien tech you could see in a main hub like that,” he purred. 

Pidge was about to say something when they stopped. They were thinking about it, but the bait was still dangling. So Lance pressed on. 

“Astro-explorers, soldiers, and space pirates all with a wide variety of equipment that you’ve never seen even in your wildest dreams? I bet we could even find a thing or two that would help us find Shiro.” Lance wiggled his eyebrows. Pidge drew in a long breath. Something alights in their eyes that Lance recognizes as the same burning curiosity he saw in Hunk’s. Check and mate. 

“Maybe, it might be worth looking into,” Pidge relaxes slightly. But Lance doesn’t miss the way that their legs shake and he knows that he had been right about them being locked in here for so long. 

“Nice,” Hunk seemed to exhale a breath that he had been holding. Lance grins smugly over his shoulder and they exchange a high-five. 

“Now we just need to convince Keith,” Lance crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

Pidge frowned and adjusted their glasses. “Seriously? You think you can coax Keith into pizza?” 

“This is a team building exercise, Pidge,” Lance looks over at them and tries to keep his confidence from wavering. “We need the whole team.”

Although the thought of getting Keith on board was daunting and part of Lance debated even asking. Lately all they did was argue, even though half of that was admittedly his fault. 

For a while there, Lance thought they might even be friends. It had been a long time in the making, but Lance was proud of that little bit of progress. He had seen Keith smile, and laugh like a normal teenager. And it reminded him of how he used to be. But ever since finding out he was part Galra, Keith hadn’t smiled, and Lance felt that particular observation like a knife to the chest. He missed their playful bickering and competitions without the venom and the hurt. Not that he would admit it. Especially not to Keith. 

“And how are you going to do that?” Pidge moved to the radio and turned the knob to silence the steady static that had been quietly filling their room. It had been sort of creepy actually, and Lance wondered how Pidge could sit on the floor in the dark listening to that without getting paranoid.

He was silent for a minute. He really had no idea what he could use to coax Keith into coming because honestly Keith took everything too seriously and Lance knew for a fact he was blaming himself for Shiro even if it wasn’t even his damn fault. 

“I’ll think of something,” Lance crossed his arms behind his head and turned from Pidge’s room. Hunk and Pidge shared a look. One he did not miss. “What? I’ll think of a plan on the way to his room. 

“He’s been distant ever since…” Pidge trailed off but left the connotation hang in the air. Ever since the Blade of Marmora incident. 

“Yeah, he was pretty tense when I asked him stuff. But he’s still like, exactly the same Keith,” Hunk shrugged.

“What kind of stuff?” Lance felt a strange twist in his chest he realized was jealousy. He hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk to Keith about the fact he was part Galra, and it sounded like Hunk had been able to get him to open up, even if just a fraction. 

And the fact he was jealous of his best friend for getting close to his rival was seriously weird. Okay, rival and ex-crush. But still, he and Keith got along as well as oil and water so it shouldn’t have bothered him that much. 

But before Hunk could answer, Allura’s voice came over the ship’s speakers and they all jumped. 

“Paladins,” Her voice held its usual tone of authority Lance figured was a trait all royalty possessed. But it also sounded tired and strained even over the speaker. “Please come to the command center at once. We have received a distress signal from a nearby planet.” 

The three of them looked up to the speaker in the hallway and then towards one another. 

“Distress signal?” Pidge frowned. 

“Looks like space pizza might have to wait,” Hunk looked over at Lance.

“Man…” Lance sighed before the three of them raced for the main bridge. 

There was a noticeable tension in the air as they approached the command center. Distress signals really never ended well for them, and without Shiro… if anything were to go wrong they couldn’t form Voltron. Even without Zarkon around, the thought of any lingering Galra threats hung heavy over their heads. 

“Princess,” Lance purred as they entered the command room. He gave her a lazy salute, which she ignored as usual. Allura had taken Shiro’s disappearance hard. She felt a personal responsibility, despite the fact they had all agreed to go into the fight willingly. 

Her eyes no longer held their usual fire, and she seemed smaller somehow. Lance wasn’t sure how to bring her back to her old self. Even his lame flirting and pun-tastic jokes went ignored. 

“What’s the situation?” The main door opened once more with a quiet woosh as Keith stepped inside and made his way towards the screens. He had been on the training deck, Lance could tell even if he didn’t know Keith spent all day on the simulator. Keith still had a bit of sweat on the back of his neck where a few strands of hair curled underneath the top of his jacket, and his face was mildly flushed from exertion. 

Keith had changed more than any of the others. Or at least, Lance had noticed those changes most. He frowned a lot more. And he had a perpetual crease between his constantly furrowed eyebrows. His shoulders were always tight, and his eyes didn’t hold any light. It wasn’t like Keith smiled a lot, but Lance hadn’t seen him smile once since Shiro disappeared. And it was pretty obvious when he did, because his whole face changed, and lit up even if for only a second or two. Shiro and Keith had always seemed close. Undoubtedly they had shared a lot between them that the rest of the team wasn’t privy to. At least, Lance wasn’t. He was pretty sure Keith and Shiro had some history. 

And yeah, he was totally jealous. Shiro was _his_ hero after all. But it certainly hadn’t come as a surprise. Keith was a genius. Maybe not like Hunk or Pidge, but a genius pilot and an unbelievably strong fighter second only to Shiro. And again, Lance felt like he was trapped in the middle, neither smart nor really strong just…there. 

Keith looked up and Lance swiftly dropped his gaze. He silently cursed himself and prayed he wasn’t as obvious as he thought. 

“Kestia is a small planet about one jump from our current location,” Allura moved her hands over the controls and brought up the screen that depicted a grey and violet planet roughly the size of Pluto with two small moons. “I heard the distress signal just now… a ship carrying a group of refugee Eluzians suffered a main engine malfunction, and they crash landed on the planet. Kestia used to be a Galra base of operations. I don’t believe there are any Galra soldiers left, but we must be cautious regardless.” 

Allura trailed off as she zoomed in on the planet. It was a thick jungle of purple trees and unusually bright blue water. Among the thick tangle of jungle trees, a large black building stood. Allura turned from the screen to look at each of them in turn. The air was heavy as her eyes lingered for a moment in the empty space where Shiro should have been. But she quickly returned to giving orders. 

“Keith, Shiro wanted you to lead the team in his absence did he not?” Allura looked over at the red paladin. 

“Wait, what?” Lance blinked, a whole new wave of shock and disbelief crashing over him. “Keith is our new leader?” Since when did Shiro say that? And wait, did everyone know? 

“I—”Keith looked away from Allura’s gaze. “He said...yeah.” 

“Keith?” Lance repeated. 

“Yes,” Allura sighed. “Without your leader, the team is…fragile,” she looked uncertain, maybe even uneasy. 

“Fragile is an understatement,” Coran pulled the edge of his mustache as he looked over at the four of them. “You have to keep it together now, for the good of the galaxy! No time to waver.” 

“I understand it may be difficult to adjust, but you must rely on the bonds you have with each other to move forward. The fight is not yet over, Paladins,” Allura’s voice was soft but steady. 

“Listen,” Keith sighed and turned to face them. “I know I’m not… I’m not Shiro, and I’ll never be Shiro. But we made it this far as a team, so…” He trailed off. 

Lance felt his fingers twitch at his side. He clenched his hands and looked away. Neither Pidge nor Hunk looked particularly surprised, so either they know or they figured. It made logical sense. Of course their leader was Keith. He was strong and collected and never afraid to throw himself into danger, skilled and brave, and everything Lance wasn’t. The divide between them just seemed to keep getting bigger. 

“Awesome speech,” Lance replied dryly. “Good pep talk,” He didn’t mean to say it, not exactly. Not like that. And he hated that his words came out bitter and resentful and childish. He felt weirdly, unjustly upset which was stupid. 

Lance cursed himself again as Keith turned to look at him, his mouth turned downward in that way he did when he was agitated and trying to hold something back. Before he could say anything though, Hunk chimed in and Lance silently sent him waves of gratitude. 

“So we just go in and help repair their ships? I mean, we’ve got some spare parts around. We were going to use them to repair the cooling panel and stuff but we can pick up more later, I guess?” 

“Actually, yes. I’ll go and purchase some new parts for our ship, and you can take what we have and help the refugee Eluzians.” Coran folded his hands behind his back. 

“I’ll stay here and keep the scanners open for any sign of trouble. I don’t anticipate any Galra still being on the planet, but be careful regardless,” Allura closed the screens with pictures of the small planet. 

“Suit up, and I’ll take us through the jump. The box of supplies is on the main hangar. And one more thing,” Allura stopped as if she had suddenly remembered something important. “Kestia is very close to its star, and its atmosphere is thin. The radiation affects technology a great deal. I believe that’s why it took so long for the refugee Eluzians to get their distress signal through. Our equipment may be affected, and that’s why it’s vitally important you stay together.” 

Everyone was quiet as the ship made the jump, and they all moved towards the hangar and to their lions. Lance's hands moved to the controls once inside, and he felt Blue stir underneath his touch. His fingers slotted into the grooves easily and he relaxed. He felt the familiar push against his mind as his lion sent him a silent inquiry.

“Mm’fine, girl,” he responded. He could almost feel how his lion didn’t quite believe him, but he heard a soft purr before the lights on the console flared to life. And then he heard a voice on his comm.

“Alright. Pidge, Hunk, you go down to the ship and find out how bad the situation is, and asses how much time we’ll need to get it up and running. Bring the cargo box with you and attend to any injured Eluzians.” 

“Roger,” Pidge sent Green forward and it soared into empty space. 

“On it,” Hunk replied at the same time. His lion roared from his chamber before it followed Pidge.

Lance tensed, and his fingers wrapped tightly around the controls. Because if Pidge and Hunk were branching off, that left the two of them. He silently prayed that Keith’s next words were not to team up. He always said the wrong things around Keith.

“Lance, you take patrol to the North and East of the city, I’ll take patrol to the West and South. If you see any sign of Galra, report in before making a move. And don’t wander too far, we don’t know how our lions or our suits will react to the atmosphere.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t wander off, got it,” Lance pushed forward and Blue raced along until they were out in open space. The descent through Kestia’s atmosphere was rough. He felt Blue shake as they sped up, and he adjusted the controls accordingly to slow their descent. 

They landed hard on the strange planet. The air had an unusual color, like a soft purple filter covered everything in sight. He moved slowly through the thick jungle, checking the direction on his console. 

“North and East, huh,” Lance slowly increased speed until they were moving through the thick trees as quickly as possible. He pulled up the scanners to search the area for any sign of activity. The radar remained blank even as they plunged further into the jungle. 

It seemed like Allura was right, he didn’t see any sign of Galra anywhere near here anymore. Which was probably a good thing for them, considering they only had four lions. 

Lance yawned and leaned back in the chair. His hands lazily moved Blue through the thick line of trees and foliage. He hadn’t heard Keith in a while, so there probably wasn’t anything on his end either. 

Man, his eyelids were heavy. He blinked once, and twice. His head started to fall forward as his vision blurred. Blue gently poked him and he murmured a nonsensical reply. His hands started to slip from the controls.

He almost didn’t see it in time when it appeared. But the small white form in the jungle pathway in front of him looked so out of place in the dark purple landscape that his brain processed it just in time. He yelped and yanked on the controls to stop Blue, his heart hammered in his chest as they skidded to a halt in front of a small white child. 

Everything from her hair, eyes, clothes, and even furry ears were a soft white, like snow. She didn’t appear frightened or confused even as Blue skidded to a halt in front of her. But when she held up a large clawed hand Lance felt something shock him and then the screen went dead. The light from the console inside Blue went dark and Lance was left in a quiet, unresponsive lion. 

“Blue, hey… you alright?” He blinked and rubbed his hand, and tentatively tested the controls again. But he felt no response, no voice. There was a strange static in the air, like everything was lightly charged. His body felt a little strange. What the hell was up with that kid? Lance groaned and slowly stood up to move from the cockpit. 

“Hey, little girl! Or… or boy,” He jumped out and landed on the ground, but when he looked up the small child was gone. “Hey! Oh come on…”

He flipped the switch on his helmet to activate his communication device. “Blue is down. I can’t seem to get a response out of her. Also, there’s a creepy kid around here that really wants to play a game of hide-and-seek.” 

He heard the soft sound of static and then bits and pieces of voices on the other end. 

“Keith?” He tried again. But all he could hear were muffled words, like a radio station just out of tune. 

“L…c…ge…he…r.e…don…too far………” 

“Oh,” Lance winced as he realized that the comms were acting up. He hadn’t even gone that far! They shouldn’t be out of range already. Unless… Allura did say that the radiation affected technology. 

He heard a giggle and definitely did not shriek at the sound. He spun around and saw a flash of white. Okay, so this was definitely the beginning of every horror movie ever and he did NOT want to end up the first casualty. Or any casualty really. He liked living.

But it was just a kid. They probably needed help. He sighed and started to follow them. 

“Hey, come back! I’m here to help you. We’re here to rescue you!” Lance grumbled as he made his way through the thick jungle foliage, pushing aside branches and stepping over large black roots. He saw the child again, just a flash before they ran off and he ran to catch up. 

“Wait! Seriously, you’ve gotta come back it’s not sa—”

The ground beneath his feet became weirdly soft, and hard soil became a slippery mess of foliage and a tangle of roots. He tripped and fell forward, and the ground was suddenly way too steep and wet and… oh he was falling. 

His hands grasped wildly for anything but he couldn’t find purchase, and his body slammed hard into the ground again, and again. Bolts of pain racked through his body and he screamed, everything rushed past him at insane speeds, a blur of purple and black as he tumbled down the side of a ravine. He hit the bottom hard. His hands moved to try and catch him, but his body landed at a funny angle. His wrist throbbed in sharp pain as it bent and he felt his head connect with the ground with a sickening smack. His helmet cracked and flew off after the impact. The world was spinning and pain exploded through him like a white-hot bolt of lightning. And then, everything stopped.


	2. Chapter 2

When Lance regained consciousness, it was in bits and pieces. He heard the sounds first, muffled voices. Words in a language that he didn’t understand. His body was heavy and everything hurt. He felt his head throb and a loud beating in his ears distorted the voices even more. He couldn’t move. He could feel his body lying down, and it was…wet. Wet and cold. He was in water of some sort. It wasn’t deep, but he could feel half of his face against the cool surface, and it soothed the searing ache in his head. But damn, he felt so tired he couldn't even open his eyes. 

He lost consciousness again. When he awoke next, it was to the thunderous roar of a lion. He recognized the sound as Blue. What was Blue doing in his room? No, wait he wasn’t… why was it wet? He wasn’t in his room. 

With colossal effort he managed to open his eyes and immediately wished he hadn’t. The pain came back ten-fold with the light, and his head throbbed like it was trying to beat itself free of him. He groaned and tried to move his fingers, but his hand was heavy as lead. He just didn’t have the strength. 

It felt nice, and cool in the water. Maybe he could just stay here a little longer…

But then he felt the ground shake violently as something slammed down next to him. His whole body protested as Blue nudged him with her giant metal nose towards the shore. He whimpered and he was almost certain that Blue paused, but then she continued to push him to dry land before she made a low noise of concern. 

"Not…so great…” Lance muttered in response to Blue’s inquiry. He had a feeling she was asking how he was and honestly he felt like he had just fallen down the side of a ravine and cracked his head open at the bottom. Oh wait. He had. 

His eyes fluttered open again and he could see Blue’s face poised over him. It was dark now. How much time had gone by? He knew she was concerned but Lance didn’t think he had the strength to stand up let alone move to her cockpit. 

“Sorry, girl. I don’t think…” Lance trailed off as he heard the sound of static and then voices. He blinked and tried to angle his head to figure out where they were coming from. And then he spotted his helmet still in the water, badly cracked but apparently still in working order. 

_“Lance!”_ He recognized Keith’s voice and dread settled in his stomach like a stone. 

He felt cold as he realized Keith was probably the last person he wanted to see him like this, because the first thing he would say is I told you so. And damnit, he was right. 

Lance groaned as the comm came to life again and he heard Keith’s voice even louder. His hand twitched at his side and he debated getting up and moving over there or just lying here and maybe dying at the bottom of a ravine on an alien planet. At least it was a pretty place to die. 

He tried to move but everything was sluggish, and he could only manage to fractionally lift one hand before the exertion made him drop it. Unfortunately, the movement sent a spasm of pain through him and he sucked in a breath as tears stung his eyes. That was probably broken. And from the feel of it, he had bruised a couple of ribs and maybe hit his head hard enough to warrant a concussion. The side of his head that hadn’t been in the water was sticky and he was pretty sure it was blood. 

“Lance! Can you hear me?” Keith sounded strangely urgent on the comm. His voice was strained and Lance thought that was unusual. He was annoyingly calm and confident even in the worst situations. 

Blue threw her head back and let out a painfully loud roar. Lance winced as it echoed throughout the ravine and inside his head. But well, that was a good idea. Because Keith chimed in from the comm again almost immediately after. 

“Was that Blue? Lance, I’m coming. I’ve got Blue’s location on radar. I’ll be there soon, just hold tight.” 

Lance blinked again. His head felt fuzzy but he was definitely sure he heard concern in Keith’s voice over the communicator. And that… made him feel weird and tingly on the inside. Which was bad, because he shouldn’t be happy that Keith was worried about him. 

“He’s really worried about me?” Lance tried to process the fact that their fearless now-leader sounded so panicked. It hadn’t even been—actually Lance had no idea how long it had been. It was dark out here now, and he shivered. During the day, the planet was almost unbearably hot, but without the light of the star and probably due to the thin atmosphere the temperature dropped like a rock. 

Some creature in the distance howled, and several others answered back with matching cries. They almost sounded like wolves, but Lance had a feeling that whatever creatures were in the crazy purple jungle were probably bigger than wolves. And that thought did nothing to comfort him. 

For the first time since he fell down here, he felt a pang of fear. He tried to push himself up with his unbroken hand but the process was slow, almost like his limbs didn't listen to him. There was a weird disconnect between the thought he wanted to move something, and actually moving it. Frustrated, he grunted and tried to push harder, but a sudden dizzy spell made him lean dangerously sideways and the ground raced to meet his face.

He gasped out in pain as he moved his head and it throbbed. The sound of the not-wolves came closer. They moved fast through the jungle and probably had excellent night vision. Lance could hardly see what lay beyond the ravine's shore. He knew that he was surrounded by a thick copse of massive trees and large black plants that any wicked predator could hide in. The water which was normally an almost unnaturally vivid blue was black at night. He shivered again.

Even with the radar, what if Keith couldn’t find him? Or worse, what if he did but he made the same mistake and fell? He was in Red, but what if the creepy kid from before did something to his lion like she did to Blue?

“Keith,” Lance rasped. He was too far from his helmet for anyone to hear him. He tried again, louder. “Keith don’t,” His voice cracked and he gripped his hand tightly as he tried to push himself upwards a second time. 

“Lance?” Keith's voice came through the quiet of the night louder than Lance had expected. “Are you okay, what happened? I’ve got you on radar I’ll—"

"No!” Lance winced as the shout made his ribs ache. He breathed heavily, half bent over himself. “Don’t come. That creepy alien kid will short circuit Red and…and…” Lance trailed off. He heard a confused noise from the other end of the comm. 

The howl came from his right now, and his left, and…oh. He could see them now. His whole body froze as he looked over at what could only be described as weird alien velociraptors. They were broader with thick necks and grey skin, and they had rows of very sharp fangs. Blue growled and stepped forward. Lance wasn’t sure that she could attack without the aid of a paladin piloting her. He had only seen Blue and Red use limited movements without their paladins, and he wasn’t sure how far that ability extended. 

The wolf-raptors didn’t look very intimidated, so that probably wasn’t a good sign. One of them raced forward and Lance braced himself. At least, he hoped it was a quick death. 

But the thing howled in pain as the ground trembled, and a deafening cry reverberated off of the walls of the ravine. Red tore into the creatures one by one. Huge metal claws came down and slammed into the beasts. Two were knocked to the side and a third was broadsided by the lion’s head as it whipped around. Eventually, the remaining pack fled. Lance wasn’t sure he remembered how to breathe. 

Red turned and the cockpit opened. Keith slipped out and jumped the rest of the way to the ground. 

Off-handedly, Lance thought how graceful the dark-haired man looked, and how easy he made everything seem. A strong mix of jealousy, embarrassment, and extreme relief washed over him. He wasn’t sure which to act on first, and his head was still too woozy to really decide. He settled for eloquent. 

“Wow,” he muttered. His eyes a little unfocused as Keith moved to crouch down next to him. Yep, that was definitely concern in his eyes. 

“What happened? How badly are you hurt?” Keith looked him up and down, and something in his eyes changed. Lance realized he probably didn’t look too hot right now covered in blood and mud from the ravine. His hair was caked with it. 

“I thought I told you,” Lance winced as he shifted his weight and his wrist twinged painfully again. A foreign warmth filled his chest like he had just downed a mug of cocoa. “For you and your stupid pretty hair to stay away?” He tried to glare but his eyes shifted between focused and unfocused and that was incredibly obnoxious. Wait, did he just let that slip out? 

“How…how hard did you hit your head?” Keith’s expression shifted from confused to mildly alarmed. “Can you move? Can you pilot Blue?” 

“Dunno,” Lance murmured. “Don’t think so, I can’t…” He tried to shift again and his whole body was brought down hard. But at least he didn’t hit the ground this time. Keith reached out and caught him. He was tense and all of his muscles were taut. Lance could feel them even between the two of their paladin suits. If he wasn't so tense, it might feel nice to lean against him.

Lance wondered if Keith would feel different against him without the—wait. Wait, wait, _wait_. He just very clearly wondered what Keith would feel like without his clothes on and that was definitely a bad thing. The whole crush on Keith thing was a very, VERY bad idea and he had decided months ago it was not going to happen. His brain needed to get with the program ASAP. 

His heart could also stop beating like that any time now. 

“We need to get you back to the others. What’s broken? Red and I will take you back and take care of things.”

Lance didn’t immediately respond. Because he didn’t really hear what Keith had said. 

“Lance?” Keith furrowed his brows and Lance tensed. 

“Ahh—what?” He blinked furiously, and belatedly he realized how very close they were. So close he could see shades of violet in Keith's eyes. He had always thought they were just grey, but there was definitely different shades, sort of like the night sky just after twilight. And wow-

“You have really long eyelashes,” Lance breathed. And then he felt his face grow horribly hot as he realized what he had just said. Out loud. Because he had thought it but it just sort of… slipped out. _Again._

Keith looked very alarmed now and Lance wanted to curl up and die. He sort of wished the wolf-raptors would come back. 

“Yeah, we need to get you back to camp immediately,” Keith hesitated for a moment, his arms still supported Lance. “Do you uh, need help standing up?” 

Lance felt his heart do a weird little flip in his chest he was pretty sure wasn’t good. No way, he did not need to be held up and hoisted into the Red Lion by Keith. Especially not after he had just accidentally flirted with him. He immediately tried to stand up, only he moved too quickly and, nope. The world started to spin around him and he felt vaguely nauseous as he wobbled on his feet. 

“Whoa, okay,” Keith threw his arms out and once again managed to balance Lance before he fell to the ground. 

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Lance groaned and closed his eyes but it didn’t stop the weird spinning in his head, like he was still rolling down the cliff. Keith stiffened and looked slightly panicked, which okay, deer in the headlights wasn’t a look he saw Keith wear often. It was sort of cute. No, definitely _not_ cute. He must have hit his head really hard. 

The climb into Red was disorienting and painfully slow. Lance hated that he couldn’t seem to take two steps without his equilibrium tilting one way or the other. Once he sat down on the ground though, it was a little easier. He carefully avoided moving his wrist. Breathing helped steady himself and made the nausea subside, but it also had the side effect of making his bruised ribs hurt even more. He was pretty sure his face was contorted, because Keith kept giving him strange looks. 

Lance tried to smooth out his features, and hide the pain. He tried to force his muscles to relax one by one, and steadied his breathing. Keith turned to Red and must have started her, because Lance felt the ground shift and move underneath him. It wasn’t as smooth a trip as he would have liked. Outside of the pilot chair, there really wasn’t anything to keep his weight from being shifted.

He tried to stifle his sounds of discomfort, and thankfully it seemed Keith was focused on the controls and the way back to the ship. Lance could feel Blue stand up and follow them. Even from here, he could feel faint waves of concern. 

The trip back felt like forever. Maybe he had gone farther out than he originally thought. His eyes started to droop, and his thoughts started to wander. 

“What about the kid?” He mumbled. 

“What kid?” Keith glanced over his shoulder briefly before he turned his attention back to the trail. 

“Y’know, the creepy alien girl all in white that I mentioned?” Lance let his eyes close. “The one that I was chasing before I fell?” 

Keith slowed their pace and Lance could hear a mix of concern and something else in his voice. “Was it an Eluzian?” 

“Think so,” Lance muttered. He rested his head against the back wall of the cockpit. “She led me off the side of the ravine.” 

Keith made a noise that Lance couldn’t quite identify. “She did what?”

Lance felt mild irritation but he was too tired to repeat it. He had just _told_ Keith what had happened. He just made a quiet grunting noise that he hoped would suffice. 

Keith said something else, but Lance didn’t quite catch all of it. He nodded off, and his head slipped to his arms crossed over his knees. 

He felt someone shake him minutes later. Or what felt like minutes later. He groaned and tried to swat them away. “Five more minutes,” he groaned. 

But someone lifted him up again and he yelped, the sudden movement sent a sharp wave of pain through him again. 

“Sorry,” Keith grimaced. His arm was once again around Lance’s waist, and they leaned into each other so closely now Lance could feel the heat off of the other paladin’s body. Lance typically ran cold, and the feeling of that warmth was almost enough to distract him from the way his body ached. 

“S’fine,” Lance dropped his eyes to the ground and prayed that Keith couldn’t see the way his face reddened. But considering how close they were, he probably could. Thankfully he didn’t say anything. 

The refugees had made a makeshift camp that was surprisingly cozy. The Eluzians had built small huts filled with cots and equipment from the large ship nearby, anything that hadn't been damaged in the crash. Small fires were scattered here and there, spits with meat cooking that filled the air with a pleasant, mouth-watering armona.

“Who… who’re they?” Lance blinked as he glanced over at very tall, spindly aliens with very long limbs, earthy brown skin, and three golden eyes on their foreheads.

“The refugees from Eluzia?” Keith raised a brow and Lance shook his head vehemently. An action he immediately regretted as he felt the vertigo return. 

“No t-they’re not,” He placed his good hand on his head as if that would stop it from spinning. “That’s definitely not what I saw out in the jungle! That girl was sort of like a cat thing… big furry ears, white eyes…” Lance trailed off. 

Keith looked unconvinced. “You sure that you really saw—”

“Lance!” Hunk barreled out from behind the large crashed ship, and dropped an armful of pipes on the ground in the process. “Lance, you okay? What happened?” 

Lance winced at the sound. He was acutely aware his arm was still around Keith’s shoulders, and that there was still a warm arm wrapped around his waist. 

“No big,” Lance plastered a lopsided grin on his face and hoped his voice didn’t shake too badly. “Totally just survived the creepy demon-ghost kid in the jungle. Score one for L-Lance,” he couldn’t help the slight crack in his voice as his ribs protested sharply for no good reason. 

“You fell down the side of a ravine,” Keith deadpanned, “How is that scoring one?” He obviously wasn’t impressed. 

Lance frowned. “Dude, when was the last time you’ve seen a horror movie? That was highly impressive—” He winced as he gesticulated with his injured hand as he usually did, but this time it sent a shock of pain through his arm. 

Hunk looked appropriately concerned and definitely a shade paler. “What uh, ghost kid?” 

“These are seriously the Eluzian refugees?” Lance looked over at the aliens in disbelief. There was no way that they were the same race. “Maybe it was a native Kestia…Kestian? Kestianite?” 

“Excuse me, Paladins,” a warbling voice came from behind them and Lance jumped a little as he realized the tall Eluzian was just behind him. “I couldn’t help but overhear. The creature you saw in the jungle, was it small and white?”

Lance nodded mutely. He blinked as he looked up at the Eluzian. And up. The guy was over seven feet tall. 

“Did your great Lion act strangely afterward?” again, Lance nodded. “I see,” the creature folded its large hands in front of itself. “We do not believe them to be natives of this planet, but they have not caused us any harm. They usually appear to warn us of coming storms. Though, occasionally it seems they like to play tricks. Some of our things have vanished, only to appear in strange places. We sometimes hear their voices when cannot see them.” 

“So—it is a ghost…” Lance laughed weakly. His body shivered even under Keith’s body heat. 

“Uh-uh. No, no way, no one mentioned anything about ghosts,” Hunk waved his arms and looked over his shoulder as if the ghost children would come back. He was definitely pale now.

Keith huffed, and the warm breath tickled the side of Lance’s neck. “There is no such thing as ghosts.” 

“There totally are!” Hunk protested. 

“Hunk, just help me with Lance already! He’s getting heavy.” 

Lance bristled, “Well excuse me for being so muscular and fit that it’s difficult to carry me.” 

Keith rolled his eyes.

But Hunk chose that moment to help, and the intimate closeness with Keith was gone. Lance felt weirdly disappointed. When he was brought to the hut and released on the cot he winced, but at least he didn’t have to move anymore. Although a small part of him, or not so small, missed the way his body had slotted against Keith’s. That thought was going in the vault for sure. 

“Wow, what happened out there?” Pidge appeared a moment later from outside, and leaned over to inspect Lance. The three of them answered at the same time.

“Murderous ghosts,” Hunk said.

“Creepy demon kids,” Lance supplied. 

“He fell off a ravine,” Keith answered. 

Pidge cocked their head to the side and sighed. They didn’t press further on any of the answers. “I’m not exactly a doctor, but you look bad, Lance. You've got a lot of blood on your face.” 

“Just a broken wrist, maybe a few bruised ribs,” Lance waved his good hand this time. “And uh, maybe a slight concussion,” he shrugged. 

“Definitely a concussion,” Keith frowned. “He’s been saying weird things since I found him.”

In a split second, Lance went from deathly pale to bright red. He opened his mouth to try and say something or lie about it, but… he couldn’t. The words sort of got stuck in his throat and he ended up coughing instead, which just made his ribs ache again. 

“Weird things?” Pidge pushed up their glasses and sat down cross legged on the opposite cot. “I guess that’s not uncommon. Concussed people sometimes get confused and disoriented.”

“What did he say?” Hunk asked too eagerly, in Lance’s opinion. But Hunk had brought a clean wet cloth and he wiped the blood off Lance’s face with a surprising gentleness so he didn’t get too upset with the guy. 

“I’m sitting right here,” Lance replied dryly. He winced as his head wound was touched, and Hunk quietly apologized. He was definitely a little disoriented but that didn’t really explain the way the way his chest felt too warm and tingly, and things spilled out he consciously did not want out. 

Keith, for his part, did not fully elaborate. “Just…y’know, strange stuff,” he shrugged. 

“Okay,” Pidge turned their attention to Lance. “What color is your Lion? Do you know where you’re at right now?” 

Lance stared. He didn’t answer, and Pidge pressed again.

“Just answer the questions so we can figure out how bad it is. We don’t have a lot of medical supplies here, so we may need to send you back to the ship—”

“No, I’m not going back,” Lance protested. He huffed dramatically, “Okay, Pidge. My name is Lance. Blue is my incredibly amazing and sweet Lion, which we found first. We’re on Kestia. A planet with a lot of trees and freaky murdering ghost kids.” 

Pidge nodded. "But, you should probably get checked out just in case. We may still be here for another quintant, judging from the status of the ship.”

Lance shook his head, slower this time to avoid the sense of vertigo. “No way, I don’t want to go back. I’m staying right here.” 

“Don’t argue, Lance,” Keith sighed. “You’re better off going back and spending time in recovery. We can handle things here.”

“I get it, okay?” Lance felt white-hot rage bubble in his chest and he raised his voice more than he meant to. Hunk froze and Keith looked at him in surprise.

“You’re better off without me, I screwed up again. Say it, say ‘I told you so’ because yeah, I get it! I deserve it. It’s probably my fault we’re not out of here already. But I have to do something, even if you’re better off without me in your way—” Lance felt his stomach twist. His eyes widened as he realized he had just said all of that out loud. 

“That… that just sort of came out,” Lance whispered, eyes still wide and panic settled heavily in his chest. All three gazes from his teammates were ones of shock. The silence stretched on and the air suddenly felt heavy.

“Lance,” Keith was the first one to speak up, although it looked like he didn’t know what to say. 

“Just, I’m really tired. I think I need to rest for a bit,” Lance dropped his gaze to his hands. 

“I-I’ll see if I can find any type of medical doctors in the camp that could fix your wrist, maybe find some medicine,” Pidge cleared their throat. 

“Lance, man. You know that's not true,” Hunk started, but Lance didn’t look up. Pidge grabbed Hunk's sleeve and nudged him towards the hut exit quietly whispering _later._

The silence between him and Keith was palpable. Lance didn’t look up. Half of him wished Keith would just turn and leave, and the other half didn’t want him to go at all. 

He drew in a breath as if he was going to say something. But Lance tensed, and after a few moments, Keith silently turned and left as well. 

Finally, Lance let his head fall back onto the pillow. The threat of tears couldn’t be held back anymore, and they started to fall from the corners of his eyes, leaving warm trails along his cheeks. And that frustrated him. He felt anger well up in his chest even as a sob racked itself from deep within him. He couldn’t stop, his breathing became erratic and he hated that his body was physically incapable of stopping. The sobs wouldn’t stop coming, despite the fact he tried to smother them with his hand or his pillow to keep anyone from hearing. 

The words just fell out like he didn’t have his usual filter on. He really hoped they would all just brush it off as him being tired and everything would go back to exactly where it was before. One thought just wouldn’t leave him. 

What if he had been the one that had disappeared instead of Shiro?

"Stop being a baby," Lance groaned. 

His head hurt worse than ever and now his throat and eyes burned. The tears stopped, but he slept fitfully. He woke up more times than he could count, the first was as one of the Eluzians checked and wrapped his wrist in a temporary splint. The pain kept him awake for some time. 

He felt a damp cloth on his head at one point, and words that he couldn’t remember. First he heard Hunk’s voice, and later he heard Pidge. And surprisingly, he even heard Keith. 

Or maybe he dreamt it all. He couldn’t quite figure out what was a dream and what was reality anymore. When he opened his eyes again, it was very dark. He heard snoring around him in other huts.

It must have been late. There was a faint red glow from outside. Lance shivered and very carefully pushed himself up. There was a large stick beside his cot likely meant to be used as a cane or crutch of some sort. 

He glanced down at his bad hand, stiff and practically immobile in the makeshift splint. He fumbled with the stick until he could stand. It was a slow process to cross the hut. He grunted and gasped and the stick wasn’t a really comfortable crutch at all, but it did support his weight. 

He made his way out into the night air. The planet was freezing at night and he immediately wished he had something warmer. The paladin suit wasn’t bad, but it was still damp.

There was a distant fire off to the side that produced the light he had seen. He avoided the fire and started to make his towards the bushes. He really had to take a leak, and he would be damned if anyone helped him with that. 

It was an embarrassingly long process as he rested on the crutch and managed with one hand. But he didn’t fall over at least. Score one for Lance, again. 

He leaned heavily against one of the jungle trees and sighed. His eyes looked up towards the sky and he saw a brilliant ribbon of violet and and green that shimmered and danced in the air above his head. 

“Whoa…” He almost dropped his crutch as he gawked at the display in the sky. His neck almost started to hurt from the way he had it craned to look upwards. 

“It’s…it’s something, isn’t it?” Keith’s voice nearly made Lance scream, and he definitely did not jump. 

He looked over at the man with shock. “You here to chastise me for getting out of bed or something? ‘Cause I don’t think you want to help me take a leak. I’m not a complete invalid,” To his smug amusement, Keith actually looked embarrassed. 

“N-No, I couldn’t sleep and I thought I saw…” He trailed off and shrugged one shoulder. The silence was there again, thick and heavy between them. 

“Y’know, you should just forget about what I said,” Lance kept his attention on the sky, although he could practically feel Keith’s intense gaze on him. 

“Did you mean it?” Keith asked quietly. 

Lance felt that same unnatural heat in his chest. His immediate answer was to reply with a smooth comeback. A quick coverup, a witty comment. 

“Yes,” he blurted out. His heart lurched, “Uh, well, I mean, I guess…” He trailed off. “With Shiro around I knew that at least I was useful being Blue’s paladin. But we can’t even form Voltron now.” All attempts to cover it up were making it worse and he couldn’t stop. 

His voice dropped and his fingers twitched at his side. “Maybe we don’t even need Voltron anymore. And if we don’t need Voltron, maybe… you don’t need me,” he trailed off.

“Don’t be stupid,” Keith stepped forward and closed the distance between them. When Lance turned around to argue, they were practically face to face. And that stopped him dead in his tracks. “We need you.” 

For a split second, Lance wondered if Keith had hit his head too. And yet, those words washed over him like the crash of a wave against the shore. Lance opened his mouth but nothing really came out. 

Keith looked to the side and cleared his throat. “So what if we can’t form Voltron. We’re still a team, we still have a lot to do. And you're a valuable part of our team. So it would be great if you could start to follow orders, even if you hate me.” 

Lance bristled, “I don’t hate you,” he didn’t exactly mean to yell but lately it was really hard to control the waves of raw emotion that churned inside of him. 

Keith furrowed his brows. “You’ve always hated me, ever since we first met!” 

“No I haven’t!” Lance leaned forward, any concept of personal space long since obliterated. “The only reason I sometimes don’t follow orders is because you act like you know everything. Sometimes you’re right, and I know it, but I can’t help but feel like you look down on me anyway.” Lance shot back. 

Shit. It was happening again. Lance felt his face flush even as he saw a slight flicker of surprise on Keith’s face. 

“I—I don’t know why I keep saying…” Lance trailed off and suddenly he felt completely vulnerable and terrified. Keith’s voice softened. 

“Pidge thinks that you might have been affected by that alien you met in the jungle. Some sort of magic. And the effect is similar to a… truth serum. The concussion probably only intensified the effect. At least, that’s what they said.” 

Lance paled. He tried to digest what Keith had just said because if he was under the effect of some sort of weird alien magic, how long would it last? Crap, what if it never wore off? He felt sick again. Keith actually placed a hand on his shoulder and Lance tensed because it was warm and steady and every part of him wanted to lean into that touch instead of pull away like he should have. The next words that come out of his mouth were probably the worst he could have said. 

“I bet you don’t even remember when we first met.” 

There was a beat of silence. Keith actually hesitated before he spoke. “You mean when we rescued Shiro or when you cornered me after my first flight simulation?” Keith’s expression looked weird for some reason. Pained. 

“No, neither—You know what? Nevermind,” Lance dropped his arms to his sides. Keith had turned his mouth downwards in the little agitated frown again. There was still fire in his eyes, but it died down as Lance took a step backwards and angled himself away. It wasn’t as successful or smooth as he wanted it to be because he still had to lean awkwardly on the crutch. 

His chest hurt, and his heart raced. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop from saying too much if he stayed here by Keith. But it wasn’t like he could turn and head off to his room or… head anywhere really. 

“Lance,” Keith said his name slowly but with strong authority. His eyes burned into Lance’s back. Lance didn’t turn around but he did make a slight breathy noise when he heard Keith say his name like that.

He tried to bite his tongue, hard. But the words came out in a rush. “I don’t expect you to remember, I guess. It probably wasn’t anything special to you,” he kept his gaze determinedly on the ground. 

And Keith, the dick, grabbed Lance’s shoulder and spun him around. Lance wobbled, but Keith was right there in front of him and his eyes were full of a fire Lance hadn’t seen in a while. A fire that kindled when they would bicker, or compete, or fight side by side together. 

“What do you remember?” And it wasn’t the question Lance had expected exactly. Maybe 'what are you talking about' or something along those lines. His phrasing was very specific, and there was no room for argument when he used his authoritative Leader Voice. 

Lance’s whine sounded more like a moan and he felt a very traitorous heat settle in the pool of his belly because apparently this was some sort of kink. Which made the thought of Keith being their leader and using that voice more often vaguely terrifying. 

Lance scrunched his nose and tried to refuse. It wasn’t fair he wasn’t able to hide anything, to keep his thoughts and memories locked away where they belonged. Stupid Keith. 

“I’m injured and cursed by some weird alien magic. And yet, you unfairly gang up on me when I’m down. Rude, Keith,” Lance mustered all of the dramatic hurt he could muster. 

“Tell me,” there was force behind Keith's words, a command and definitely not a request. Lance snapped his head back to look at him. He was mildly annoyed that he was turned on, and that thought would never leave his head. Ever. 

“I-I want to sit down first,” Lance dropped his eyes but he managed to catch a glimpse of surprise in Keith’s expression. 

“Okay,” Keith’s voice was softer now, as if he hadn’t expected it to be so easy. Even with the effect of the magic. And when he awkwardly moved to help him sit down, Lance would never admit that he took longer than usual to keep Keith’s warm hands against his back.

Lance took a deep breath and leaned his head back against a tree. He didn’t know why he held onto the story. It had been so long ago, and yet he could never seem to get it out of his head. Even when Keith walked right past him in the Garrison. Not even when the dark-haired pilot had been expelled, and Lance figured he should have been grateful that he was promoted to fighter class. Not even then. 

Telling it would be mortifying, he knew. But if he didn't, Keith would undoubtedly continue to pester him. 

“Okay,” he breathed. "But it's sort of a long story, so I guess I start at the beginning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay, so originally this was a one shot, but it got too long for a single chapter OTL anyway, next is Little!Lance and Keith.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ Thank you everyone for all the love! Holy crap, I did not expect this. I am so grateful for each and everyone of you that left a review, kudos, or bookmarked this fic. I love you all~ 
> 
> This chapter is long, and it took ages to edit. OTL But, please enjoy.

“The first thing I noticed about the Galaxy Garrison was that there wasn’t any water anywhere," Lance said softly. "There was no ocean, no soft waves lapping gently at the white sand. No palm trees, or fragrant mariposa. There was no scent of salt on the air that always meant home for me. The air was hot, dry, and hard to breathe especially in the middle of the afternoon under the blazing desert sun. It was like the place was located in a vast, empty nowhere. They never told you that kind of stuff in the books or pamphlets.”

Lance folded his arms over his legs and looked up at the sky as he talked. The night was still and quiet. The place looked like a different world altogether now, especially with the brilliant light show that danced overhead. He glanced sideways at Keith, who had leaned against a nearby tree. He had his arms crossed, but his expression was open as he listened. 

Lance had no idea what Keith would say after his story, or how he would feel. That thought made him vaguely nauseous, and he dug his fingers into the fabric of his suit to ground himself before he continued. 

“I was excited, because the GGSC was the first time I had been out on my own. I mean, really on my own. It was super far from where my family was living at the time, and I probably never would have gone if I hadn’t won this contest they held. It paid for the airfare, and the accommodations in the dorms. The camp was only five days long, but I expected to see all of the newest tech that the Garrison had to offer, especially the spacecrafts. I guess the program was designed to get kids interested in the place. 

“Our group was led by a stocky, older guy. He stood to attention the whole time he talked. Liked the sound of his own droning voice. Didn’t even realize half of the kids were talking to each other instead of listening to him. I didn’t know anyone, not yet. But how hard could it be to make friends? I mean, I was always pretty good at it. I picked up English quick when I was young, so I figured I could find all sorts at camp.

“There was a girl that stood over by the edge of the large walkway we were on that connected two of the buildings. She was tall, maybe a year or two older than me. She looked kind of bookish, but she could name every model parked in the hangar below us. Rows of gleaming silver and black fighter-class crafts polished to perfection. They looked even more impressive than the pictures I had seen. My fingers itched to touch the control panels, and I wanted more than anything to feel the pilot’s seat against my back.” 

Lance let the fabric he gripped in his fist loose and tried to smooth it out. Keith shifted and moved to sit on the ground. Maybe a bit closer than he was before, but Lance didn’t dare look over at him. 

“So I waited until our group officer turned his back and started to lead our group towards the mess hall. And I stayed back. I looked around and spotted a ladder just off to the side of the walkway that went down to the ground. It was faster than finding the stairs inside the building at the end of the walkway. And I was less likely to be seen. Figured I could catch up to my group later." Lance shrugged.

“The metal of the ladder scorched my bare hands, and I almost dropped myself. But I scrambled the rest of the way down, and swiftly landed on the ground. And no one noticed a thing.” 

Lance closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards. Despite the cold evening air on this planet, he could almost feel the blistering heat of the desert sun back on Earth. The dry air against his face, the distant sound of machines whirring, the fading sound of the officer’s voice as he walked away. And a uniquely earthy smell that no other planet could replicate quite the same.

* * *

ELEVEN YEARS AGO

The run to the hangar was a long one. Lance had definitely miscalculated how far it was, and each step forward put him farther into plain view. Anyone could look over and see him, and he would be in _so much trouble_ if he were caught. 

The dry air burned in his lungs as he pushed himself to run even faster. The sound of his chucks slapped the pavement in time with the thud of his heart. His mouth tasted faintly of iron, but he didn’t stop. Each second that went by, he thought he’d hear someone shout or raise an alarm. He didn’t even dare to look over his shoulder. But eventually the hanger was within reach, and he almost stumbled inside as he raced past the massive doors. 

He bent over and tried to catch his breath, almost giddy with relief that no one was out here. The Garrison was gigantic, and there were dozens of buildings on the ground, but there weren’t even engineers here to work on the crafts. Lucky for him. 

The fighter crafts inside towered over his head even parked on the ground. They were sleek and tapered. He craned his neck upwards as he made his way around the nearest one. The metal was warm against his hand. 

“Whoa,” Lance turned to look at the largest spacecraft in the hangar. It was an explorer, meant for long journeys into space. Like the fighters, it was painted a sleek silver but it had bright red stripes along the side. The engines were more than twice the size of the fighter, and the cabin was large enough to accommodate a decent sized crew for a long period of time. He moved slowly around the outside to look for a way in. 

A loud bang behind him made him jump. His heart skipped a beat as he spun on his heel to look upwards at a massive cargo box just underneath a large open window where the sound had come from. He heard someone take a breath, and then saw a boy leap off the top of the container and towards the ground. 

They were in silhouette with the light from the window behind them, and for a second he seemed to hover in the air. Lance realized a split second too late he was directly beneath the boy, but it was too late to move. His eyes widened a moment before they collided and crashed to the ground together.

“Ow, ow,” Lance groaned. He opened his eyes and blinked away the white lights that temporarily blurred his vision. Then he focused on the boy that pinned him to the ground. Considering they were face-to-face it wasn’t too difficult to see him now. He was probably about the same age, with dark hair and wide, grey eyes. 

“What d'you think you're doing?” Lance meant to shout, but it came out as more of a bewildered mumble. The kid that unceremoniously landed on him looked shocked and equally confused to see him.

“Sorry—I’m sorry,” the boy quickly sat up. “I didn’t think anyone would be, um, standing there." 

Lance moved so he sat up, and they narrowly avoided knocking heads. Nothing hurt too bad, just a dull ache from where his back had hit the ground. But the shock of the situation probably numbed the pain a bit.

“Are you okay?” the dark-haired boy asked. And he sounded _honestly_ concerned, so Lance couldn’t get too upset. 

“Mm’fine,” Lance mumbled. He figured the boy was probably here for camp, since he was too young to be a cadet. Although, he looked out of place in a way Lance couldn't put his finger on. Aside from the fact he just fell from a window. “But what were you doing? I mean, I might have been an officer or a Garrison cadet at least.” 

The kid rubbed the back of his neck and ducked his head. “I wanted to see the spacecrafts up close. Sorry I didn’t look before I jumped, but you didn’t _move_ either.” 

Lance crossed his arms tightly over his chest. His voice came out louder than he meant and the other boy winced. 

“I-I didn’t have time!” He probably did have time, but he wasn’t going to admit he was stuck there in dumb shock. Ultimately, they were there for the same reason though. Great minds think alike, and all that. 

“D’you… wanna look at one with me?” Lance asked after a moment. The other kid looked surprised, but then he smiled. Which Lance took as a yes.

“I’m Lance, by the way. Who’re you?” Lance pushed himself up and brushed some of the dirt off of his jeans. The floor of the hangar was covered with a fine layer of sand and smeared with oil. He was pretty sure he'd have a stain that he would have to explain away later. He noticed the other boy had rips in his jeans, and he wondered if jumping through windows and climbing around was a common occurrence for him. The boy had managed the drop down from the window fairly easily.

The dark-haired boy looked up and over at Lance before he dropped his eyes. “Keith.” 

Keith was still on the ground so Lance held his hand out to help pull him up. The other boy hesitated for a long second before he took it. He looked weirdly uncomfortable, which made Lance wonder if he wasn’t used to being around other people. Maybe he was just shy or something. 

“So, what do you wanna be?” Lance asked as he pulled Keith forward and towards the massive explorer spacecraft. People were easy. He had never had any problems getting anyone to open up. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the boy’s face. Keith may have been quiet, but his eyes were emotive, and Lance tried to figure out what Keith was thinking as he studied them.

“Um, a fighter-class pilot,” Keith answered after a moment. His voice was quiet and drawn in, like he was unused to talking so much. Lance was always accused of being loud, but he grew up with siblings and it just sort of happened naturally, so most people tended to be quiet to him.

“Me too!” Lance grinned and Keith visibly relaxed a bit. “I’m going to apply as soon as I turn fifteen. I'll head into space with my own crew, and take pictures of everything so everyone in my family can see it when I get back. They want me to call every night to find out what I did at camp. Mamá worries, but I can totally take care of myself. What about you?” 

Keith’s smile vanished, and the change was so sudden that Lance wondered if he said something wrong. “I don’t… have one. A family, I mean.” 

Lance stopped in place, and his eyes widened as he realized his colossal mistake. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to…um,” he trailed off, not sure how he could possibly apologize for talking so openly about his family when Keith didn’t even have one. Did that mean he was an orphan? And if he was, then where did he live? The Garrison was at least twenty minutes from the nearest town, and he doubted that Keith lived on his own so maybe he ran away from his caretakers.

They stand for a beat in silence, and Keith looked like he wanted to disappear into the ground. But Lance sucked in a breath and said the first thing that came to mind to try and fix things. 

“You can be part of my family,” he’s not sure exactly why he said it, but it felt right. Besides, everyone should have a family to look after them. Although Keith just looked confused. 

Lance hurried to explain. “M-Marisa just got engaged—she’s my older sister—and she brings her fiancé over for dinner all the time. He’s really nice, and he plays videogames with me. Alicia likes him too, because he tells her stories at bedtime and they build sandcastles and go beach combing together. So it’s like he’s already part of the family. I don’t think Mamá would mind either, she likes to cook for people. And her cooking is really good. I think they’d like you. ” 

“Lance, I don’t think this is… it’s not the same thing," Keith furrowed his brows as if something were obvious. "I can’t just join your family. It doesn't work like that.” 

Lance blinked. “Why not?” 

“I—I mean, your sister got engaged. It’s different. I can’t just join your…" Keith trailed off. His face does a funny and abrupt shift to bright red. "D-did you just ask me to marry you?” Keith looked at him with wide uncertain eyes. 

And Lance was pretty sure his face turned almost as red. He’s suddenly hyper aware that Keith’s hand is still in his since he never dropped it, but he couldn’t will his body to move.

“I-I just thought you might want to come home and play games, and go swimming in the ocean, and maybe stay for dinner, and after because sometimes Marisa makes really good pastelitos!” 

Lance is sure his voice squeaked. It all sounded better in his head before he blurted it out. And, he realized too late that he didn’t say _no_ exactly, and it would be weird to go back now. 

“What’s a… pastelito?” Keith takes his time pronouncing the word like he’s trying to say it the same way but it comes out too stilted on his tongue. And Lance took a breath to explain.

"Um, there are different kinds but-" He stopped as soon as he heard voices and footsteps from outside the hangar. His breath caught in his throat and he yanked Keith under the explorer until they were both concealed from view. He could hear his heart beat in his ears, and when the footsteps drew close he scrunched his eyes closed and tensed. He could feel Keith go rigid beside him at the same time, and Lance prayed that no one saw them here because he had no idea how to explain his way out of this one. 

He held his breath until the men passed, and at least thirty seconds longer until he started to get light-headed as the sound of footsteps faded into the distance. And then his breath came out in a rush. “That was way too close,” he turned and was practically nose-to-nose with Keith. 

He quickly dropped his hand. His own was sort of sweaty, and he hoped his heartbeat wasn't as loud as he thought it was. At least they didn’t get caught. Not yet, anyway. 

“Um,” Lance tried to break the awkward silence as he took a step back. He desperately tried to think of something to say. It was hard to focus when it was so hot, and adrenaline still coursed through his body. Fear and giddy relief battled for control. So, he said the first question that came to mind. “What group are you in?”

Keith furrowed his brows in a way that made him look older than he was. Lance wanted to tell him that he’ll get wrinkles that way. That’s what Marisa always told him when he frowned. And Marisa knew everything, she even put strange green stuff on her face at night.

“I’m not,” Keith said suddenly. 

Lance blinked. “You’re not in a group yet?” 

Keith looked strange again. He dropped his eyes and shoved his hands in the pocket of his sweater. And Lance found it weird that he was wearing a sweater at all. Lance was used to warm weather, but the desert heat was oppressive. Even in the hangar where it was slightly cooler, how was Keith not dying? 

“I broke in. I’m not supposed to be here.” 

Lance’s eyes widened. “Oh,” is all he can manage to say. But he found it sort of cool that Keith managed to sneak in to the Garrison like that. It was a massive government facility after all. So, he was sort of like a secret agent. 

“Let’s find out how to get inside,” Lance said after a beat. Keith smiled again, and he relaxed. It was a soft smile, but he looked better that way.

“Sure,” Keith says. “The hatch is on this side.” 

Lance followed him as he moved, and they made their way onto a platform towards the side of the explorer. He was fairly impressed that Keith knew the spacecraft well enough to know where the hatch was located. The door was closed, but apparently not locked because Keith found the latch and opened it up, and the steel ramp into the ship clattered out. They both tensed as it hit the ground with a loud crash, but no one came to investigate. 

Lance took a deep breath. He glanced over at Keith before they both head inside. It’s not as big on the inside as Lance thought it would be. There are just enough seats for the crew members, and near the center is the pilot’s chair. Keith ran his hands over the controls and wrapped his fingers around the throttle. Lance scrambled into the pilot’s chair and beamed.

“Alright, crew! To position!” Lance shouted in his best pilot voice. The chair was a little big for him, and his feet didn’t quite touch the floor, but he was ecstatic anyway. It was bright orange, and heavily padded with serious hardware for the belts. He felt dwarfed in it.

Keith turned around and frowned. “Lance, what are you doing?” 

“To position, Keith! We’re taking off!” Lance persisted. 

“But we can’t both be pilots,” Keith crossed his arms and very determinedly did _not_ get into position. 

“You can be the pilot next, ‘kay?” Lance placed his hands on the armrests of the chair and leaned forward toward the controls. 

Keith rolled his eyes but headed to the navigator’s chair. The only light came through the open hatch. 

Lance leaned forward in the chair and found the switch for the view screen at the front of the ship. So he flipped it. There was a low buzz in the cockpit before it turned on, and granted a view of the hangar and outside.

Keith tensed. "You're not... really going to try and fly this thing, are you?"

Lance scoffed. "Just pretending! I just wanted to get the screen up, 'cause it's dark in here. Besides, two people isn't enough to crew this thing."

"Also... you don't know how to fly it."

"Minor detail," Lance shrugged. "So, where to?" He pictured the rest of the spaceship readying for takeoff, the lights inside flashing, the whir of the engines as they powered on. He had seen plenty of movies to fill in the blanks in his imagination.

“I…I dunno?” Keith supplied. And Lance slipped from his imagined takeoff just for a second. 

He sighed as loudly and dramatically as possible. “We can go _anywhere_ in our galaxy! I can’t believe you don’t know where you want to go! What about the station they’re building on Mars? Or we could visit Jupiter’s orbit and see the Great Red Spot—it’s the biggest storm in the whole solar system. Oh, we could go see that one planet that rains molten glass! Although it might take a few months to get out there,” Lance mused on the thought. 

“I guess I never really thought about where I would go,” Keith turned to look at the control panels. “Just that I always felt like I was meant to be up in space, looking for something.”

Lance glanced over at him and leaned forward in his seat again. “Well, let’s go exploring then. We can jump around, and look at anything we want. Maybe we’ll even find an alien species. That would be pretty cool, right?” 

Keith turned around and looked at him, a small smile on his face. “Yeah. That would be pretty… cool.” 

“Good,” Lance moved his hands forward and mimicked the release of controls to set the ship for takeoff. “Then, here we go!” 

He guided Keith through a very detailed one-man performance. They landed on an alien planet, and discovered a sentient species. Then they saved them from a dark alien force with a powerful celestial weapon he may or may not have gotten from his comic books. But Keith didn’t seem like the type to read comics so he went with it. Lance rolled through the ship and mimicked firing his blaster at the invading aliens that wanted to take over the universe. He grinned until his face hurt, but Keith actually laughed and Lance decided that it was a really nice sound.

They’re probably in the ship for no longer than an hour when it started to get dark. Keith looked over and outside and his smile faded. It was harder to see inside the spacecraft now, but outside a plethora of stars littered the desert sky and it almost did seem like they were in space. “You should get back before someone finds you missing. Or finds us here.” 

Lance tugged at the sleeve of his sad Pluto shirt and sighed. “Yeah, I guess. I promised I would call my family when I got back to the dorms. But I’ll be here for almost a week. Maybe I can… see you again?” He looked up hopefully. Keith’s face fell. 

“Oh. I don’t know if I can manage to sneak in again. I’m probably in a lot of trouble already for leaving like this.” 

Lance wanted to ask where Keith stayed if he didn’t have a family. But for some reason he didn’t pry. He couldn’t quite hide the disappointment from his face but he managed a smile anyway. 

“It’s okay, I get it. But I’ll see you for sure in a few years? I’m definitely going to get into the Garrison, and I’m going to be an ace pilot. And I really do think you'd like my family. I'm for sure going to bring you to meet them one day. So… I’ll see you again. Promise?” 

Keith looked over at him and outright grinned. “Sure. It’s a promise.” 

* * *

Lance had his face buried in his hands. He could feel it burn against his palms. Despite his best pleading, the ground did not open up and swallow him. It remained very hard and very solid against him. Keith had been quiet the entire time. Which was sort of unsettling. Lance silently prayed he had fallen asleep or something. 

Keith shifted next to him and took a breath like he wanted to say something. Even without looking, Lance could tell he changed his mind at least once. 

“A-anyway,” Lance mumbled into his hands. “When I saw you at the Garrison you didn’t even remember me. It was just after your first flight simulator. I pulled Hunk over to get a better look at the screen and I saw your face. I wasn’t sure at first, but then the girl that was your team comm spec, she said your name.” 

Lance dropped his hands but refused to turn and look at Keith. He could still vividly remember how Keith looked in the simulator. He sat in the pilot’s chair with an ease and confidence that Lance wasn’t even sure the guy knew he was exuding, as if this wasn’t his first time in the sim. Of course it was, because Iverson hadn’t given permission to start any flight training until that point. And Lance was still a B-Class cargo pilot. He hadn’t even graduated to fighter. So he was impressed and slightly jealous. 

Keith was really skilled behind the controls. He commanded his crew with sharp authority and exact commands, but he guided the ship with precise control and fluidity. There wasn’t exactly a chemistry with his team, but there was no doubt that he was skilled behind the controls. 

Okay, so maybe Lance had been jealous. He hadn’t been quite used to the stick yet, and cargo ships were clunkier than fighters. The mechanics were different, and they didn’t move as quickly as he willed them to. 

“Hunk was the one that told me that you might be promoted to a full team, which was totally unheard of for a first year.” Lance shifted uncomfortably on the ground. His ribs protested the movement and he winced. 

“You… told Hunk about me?” Keith sounded surprised. Lance accidentally looked over at him. 

“Uh,” Lance faltered and felt his face get warm once again. He had sort of let that one slip. Hunk had been his confidant their first year at the Garrison together, since they were roommates. And Lance knew he talked a lot, but Hunk always sounded genuinely interested which made it so _easy_. 

Of course, Lance never mentioned how awkward their first meeting had been, but he had probably dropped Keith’s name once. Or twice. Or… a lot. He had always lamented not getting Keith's full name, or an address. But as a naive kid, he wrote letters anyway. Letters he placed in a shoebox under his bed. He wrote about school, his family, the bad storms that would pass through. Letters that would never be sent. Marisa teased him endlessly for it. Lance wondered what they did with those letters, and all of his stuff. He felt a pang of loneliness grip him.

“You were wearing red shoes,” Keith sort of mumbled, “They had drawings all over them.” It was enough to snap Lance out of his train of thought, though he felt like he missed a step in the conversation somewhere. 

“Red… shoes?” Lance blinked. Keith stubbornly kept his eyes on the ground, but there was definitely a blush on his face. And that wasn’t the expression Lance had expected, so he stared for a long moment. 

“You were wearing them,” Keith said again. “When… when we…um, met” Keith had actually dug his fingers into the grass, and there was indentations on the ground where he had worn the dirt away. Lance wasn’t positive, but he felt like Keith was just as embarrassed as him right now. Which, wow, okay. 

It took Lance almost a full minute to recycle what Keith had said and come to terms with what it meant. He blamed that on the concussion. 

Those shoes had been his well-worn favorites until he grew out of them. 

“You do… remember?” It still came out as a question because Lance wasn’t entirely sure he was reading the situation right. “Wait—hold the phone!” Lance practically shouted. He threw himself forward and planted his arms on the ground on either side of Keith, until they were face-to-face. All sense of embarrassment faded as the connotation slammed into him. 

Keith actually jolted, and moved his head back on impulse only to hit it against the trunk of the tree he sat against. He winced, but before he could say anything Lance took full control of the situation. 

“If you remembered, why did you act like you didn’t that day at the Garrison?” Lance very clearly remembered Keith walking away from him after he introduced himself. Because the memory had been a bitter one that had gotten stuck in his mind for years. 

“It was… a weird time for me!” Keith actually looked somewhat uncomfortable. It was such a sharp dichotomy from the inborn confidence exuded in battle. “Shiro had just left for the Kerberos mission. I knew he would be gone for at least a year, and… I sort of threw myself into school to distract myself. When I saw you, I just didn’t put the pieces together. Not until later. And then you pretty much hated my guts, and made no attempt to hide that fact. So how was I even supposed to bring it up? Besides, you didn’t really mention anything that would key my memory, okay? You literally said _‘Name’s Lance. Remember me? Ace pilot?’_ ” Keith pointed his thumbs towards himself in what Lance figured was a mimicry.

Lance fumbled over several things he wanted to say at once. He was getting dizzy again. “I do not sound like that,” he crossed his arms. “Besides, I bet I said something… else.” He wasn’t so sure now. 

Keith rolled his eyes. “You stepped in front of me to block my path, and that’s exactly what you said. I had a lot on my mind that day. Like I said, I didn’t put it together until later. And then I… I didn’t know what to say. It was easier to pretend I didn't remember. And even when I wanted to say something, when I felt like maybe we were connecting, I couldn't think of the right words to bring it up and before I knew it the moment passed. And I didn't even know if you remembered what happened-I was just a kid without a family, and it was years ago!” 

Keith actually looked smaller somehow. His eyes wavered and he tucked his head like a frightened animal, and Lance felt some of his anger ebb away. Damnit, that wasn’t _fair._

“We’ve been on a team together for months,” Lance sighed. He sat back on the cold ground in bemused silence. 

I-I know,” Keith mumbled, “I’m sorry. If I could go back and fix things, I would. I always thought you hated me, and I get... weird around you, alright?” 

Lance paused. “I’ve never heard you apologize to me before.” He blinked and moved to grab his crutch from where it fell, and then he started to push himself up. It was seriously cold, and his whole body ached from sitting on the ground for so long. Keith made an attempt to help, but Lance moved out of reach. 

His head felt fuzzy. He wasn’t sure if that was because of Keith’s words, the concussion, or the weird magic. Maybe a little of all three. He felt drained, stretched too thin like a piece of fabric about to rip. The silence hung heavy between them. Lance wanted to be angry, but he was just tired. All this time, he had a crush on a boy he had made a promise to under the desert stars, and that boy had remembered him after all. 

Lance looked down and bit his lip. He could still feel the effect of the alien magic on his body, because no matter how much he tried to shut up, as soon as a thought crossed into his mind he blurted it out. 

“I’m… sorry, too. I guess, I made things worse by the way I acted.” He gestured vaguely with his good hand. “Y’know, there were a lot of times I did things just to get under your skin. Partly because I just wanted to close the gap between us, and partly because I was… upset you didn’t remember me.”

Lance fidgeted with his crutch. Despite the cold night air, he felt overheated. “But seriously, how many criminally handsome Cuban pilots did you think went to the Garrison?” He glanced at Keith, but there was no heat in his eyes.

Keith rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just—”

Keith was apparently really bad with people. Lance had always known it, but not the full extent. He rolled his eyes. An infectious imitation he had learned from Keith. Well, he was already drowning. Might as well go down with flair. Hopefully he had a good epitaph on his tombstone.

“You’re right. Maybe I should have said it like this,” he popped his hip to the side and gestured with his good hand as he leaned forward towards Keith. “Hey, gorgeous. Remember me? Name’s Lance. I sort of proposed to you under a Garrison spacecraft?” 

To his surprise and complete delight, Keith turned an almost violent shade of red. Lance didn't stop there. “You know why I was upset you didn’t remember me? I felt closer to you that day than anyone I had ever met before, which was crazy because you were a total stranger. But that memory stayed with me for years, and I really did want to see you again. I wrote you stupid letters that I couldn't send, but I wanted to reach out. I _liked_ you, you idiot,” Lance felt dizzy. He couldn’t remember how to breathe. He tensed, his hand gripped his crutch too tightly. His body shook, and for a second he was worried his heart would give out because it would not stop racing. 

“Maybe I… never stopped.” 

There was a silence then between them that Lance felt could span the universe. When he finally managed the courage to look up, Keith was stunned. 

But he didn't have a chance to hear Keith's reaction, because something crashed to the ground behind them and Lance turned to stare at a massive pile of barrels that had been knocked over beside the Eluzian ship, not ten feet from them. Hunk still had his arms out to stop them and Pidge had a hand over their face.

“Nice one, Hunk,” Pidge lowered their hand.

“Sorry. I just sort of, fell forward,” he rubbed the back of his neck. Three of the barrels were still rolling. 

“What are you two doing?” Lance shouted. He prayed to all that was holy that they had not just heard him. 

“Uh, well we saw that your cot was empty and,” Hunk shrugged. “Followed you? And then we saw you talking to Keith and…” he trailed off. 

“Well, now that we’re out in the open,” Pidge smirked, “How do you _accidentally_ propose to someone?” 

“Dude,” Hunk set the barrel he had managed to catch aside. “You didn’t tell me that! I mean he was all you talked about all the time at the Garrison, so I figured you liked him but—”

“I—I was six!” Lance protested. He knew his face was nearly as red as Keith’s at this point. “And I—that—” Lance fumbled, desperately trying to lie because he so did not talk about Keith all the time. He definitely talked about other things and other… people. But he couldn’t get the words out. Stupid alien magic.

“Alien magic,” Pidge grinned even wider. The demon. “Fascinating really.” 

“Aw, that’s cute,” Hunk completely missed the point. Lance made a frustrated noise and turned on the traitor. 

“Hunk!” He whined, “You are not helping here!” 

“I think you broke Keith,” Pidge nodded over at the red paladin. He was still bright red, eyes wide and seemingly frozen in place. Until Pidge snapped him out of it.

“I’m not broken!” Keith snapped, but he couldn’t quite seem to iron out his expression. He did sort of look broken. 

“I mean, it was pretty obvious you liked him,” Pidge shrugged and purposefully did not specify which of them they were talking about. 

“Was not!” Lance and Keith shot back at the same time. Pidge turned and gave Hunk a pointed look. He shrugged in return.

“Oh, were we supposed to not notice? ‘Cause, I thought the whole ship knew,” Pidge persisted. Lance swore that Pidge had to be lying. He was very careful not to be too obvious. 

“Oh my god, this is not happening,” Lance whined, “Even Allura?”

“Definitely Allura,” Hunk nodded. “She was one of the first people to say something about it. She thought it was a weird human bonding thing.” 

“I-I need some air,” Keith turned and walked away almost in a daze. Lance felt slightly concerned. Keith was definitely acting weird, and not Keith-like at all. 

“You’re already outside,” Pidge pointed out but Keith pretended not to hear, and walked farther from the ship. 

“This is it, this is the end of the team,” Lance stared at the ground in absolute shock. He had ruined everything. Keith was going to hate him now and they’d never be able to fight together again. “I killed Volfam.” 

“Vol what?” Hunk made a face. 

“Volfam!” Lance gesticulated with his good arm. “Y’know, the Voltron family? I killed it. I mean, without Shiro we were already… but _now_ ,” Lance whined. 

“No need to be dramatic,” Pidge stepped forward. “I mean, Keith always deals with things by internalizing them. It’s pretty obvious he likes you.” 

Lance stared at Pidge for a good long moment. “Since when?” 

“Oh my god,” Pidge pinched the bridge of their nose. 

“Yeah, man. Pidge is right. I just don’t think he knows how to express it,” Hunk shrugged. “I mean, he was almost in a panic when he couldn’t hear you over the comm. And back when you were injured in the explosion? He stayed by your healing pod all night. I found him asleep in med bay when I went to make breakfast the next morning. I think he’d kill me if he found out I told you that though.” 

“Please,” Pidge huffed. “I used to keep a tally of how many times I caught you two gazing at one another behind each other’s backs, until the tally went onto the second page.”

Lance blinked. “He would stare at me? Like, in a good way?” 

Pidge ignored his question. “Get some sleep and talk to him in the morning. One way or another you’ll know for sure how he feels, and you can stop agonizing about it. It’s weird to see you all freaked out.” 

“Well sor-ry I happened to run into a strange ghost alien that cast some truth spell on me,” Lance crossed his arms. 

Pidge smiled. “There, that’s the Lance we’re all used to.” 

“You mean to say that we all know and love.” Lance corrected.

“Well we certainly know you,” Pidge crossed their arms to mimic him. 

“Hey!” Lance protested, “I’m very lovable,” he pushed himself upright and wobbled. 

Hunk reached out to steady him, one hand on his back. “Maybe you should go back to sleep. You did knock your head pretty badly. And you don’t look so good, to be honest, man.” 

Lance didn’t even have the energy to protest. He was completely exhausted, even if his mind and heart raced hard enough to make him nauseous. Maybe if he went to sleep he would wake up to find out this whole thing had been a dream. 

Hunk helped him back to his cot, which he gratefully flopped down into. His whole body ached. But he couldn’t help but remember the way Keith had turned and walked away. Why? What was he thinking? 

“Lance,” Hunk rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t stress too hard. Pidge is right. Talk to him in the morning and sort stuff out. It’s Keith we’re talking about here, nothing is going to happen to the team. And… you were wrong before. We do really need you.” 

Lance turned his back and buried his face in his pillow. But he had a tired smile on his face. “Thanks, Hunk,” he mumbled. 

His friend gave him a lopsided smile and turned to leave. “Anytime, man. We’re a family, and family is there for each other.” 

When Lance closed his eyes, he thought maybe this wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t a dream after all.  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter! Sorry for the delay, I was on vacation and attending an anime convention. Enjoy the Langst. Don't worry, Lance will get the praise and support he deserves soon.

Lance woke up with a crick in his neck, a dreadfully sore back, and the headache of a century pounding in his skull. He groaned, and then whimpered as he shifted from his back to his side. He was almost afraid to look at his skin underneath the paladin suit, because he knew there would be several massive and nasty bruises along his torso. And this, this was not how he was used to waking up. Where was he again?

He very slowly opened his eyes. And then immediately clenched them shut. His head seared with pain, and he doubled over on the cot. There was a repetitious metallic clang from outside, over and over and over again. It echoed inside his skull, and Lance prayed they would stop with that incessant noise like _now_.

“Man,” he moaned into his pillow. “What did I do to deserve this?” he placed a hand over his eyes to block out the light and then, bit by bit, peeked out from between his fingers. His eyes adjusted painfully slow but the headache wasn’t as bad when he took things gradually. Concussions sucked. 

He had his helmet on when he fell, but it also flew off after the impact. Though without it, he was pretty sure he’d be dead by now instead of just sporting a horrible headache and wicked nausea. He wondered if the effects of the weird truth spell vanished overnight. He wasn’t sure he could have another repeat performance of last night, not with the way Keith turned and disappeared like it had all been too much for him. 

Oh god. Keith. 

Memories flooded back to him in a sudden and overwhelming rush. Pidge had said he felt the same way, but Lance wasn't so sure. Besides it was Keith they were talking about. He stared at the ceiling of the makeshift hut they had given him, and recalled his very last conversation with the red paladin in excruciating detail. Then he pushed his hands against his face and moaned. 

The sound apparently concerned someone, because Lance heard them enter through the small flap. He didn’t pull his hands down.

“What was that? Are you dying? Because if you’re dying I'd appreciate if you did it when I'm off watch duty. In case anyone blames me.”

“Pidge,” Lance whined into his hands. “Pidge, kill me now.”

He heard a small huff to the side of his cot and then heard footsteps approach him. Pidge dragged another cot across the floor and jumped up onto it with a soft squeak. 

“Again, that’s far too much work on my end. And I'd have to explain why we’re suddenly short a paladin. Besides, you can’t die. You still owe me a week’s worth of chores for making you that crystal charger for your phone.” Pidge paused, and then their voice softened. “Plus, it would be boring without you around.” 

Lance lowered his hands and looked over at Pidge with furrowed brows. “Chores and entertainment? That's the only reason you want me around? I knew it!”

He had only been teasing, but Pidge looked genuinely surprised, so maybe he had gone too far. 

“I'm just kidding. Obviously you keep me around for my witty banter and great looks.” Lance sat up slowly.

Pidge rolled their eyes and Lance wondered if Keith’s habits had contaminated the entire Castle-Ship. “How is it possible that you’re older than me? Seriously. Anyway, are you sure you’re not dying? Because my specialty is computers, but you hit yourself pretty bad and you probably need some time in the healing pod.”

Lance dropped his eyes and tensed. “I’m fine,” he didn’t buy his own lie and he knew Pidge didn’t either. But there was no argument. “Just, I want to sort some stuff out okay? I’ll take care of myself after. How much longer until we can get the Eluzian ship up and running?”

“Hunk is working on the valve regulators right now, and I'm re-calibrating the ship’s OS. So at least another quintant?” Pidge shrugged. “Keith is investigating the abandoned Galra base, in case we can collect any intel from it.”

Lance felt his face grow hot again, and his chest tightened as he thought about Keith.

“Ah, uh, that’s a good idea. Totally. I mean, they might have left something behind we can use. Maybe I'll just stay here and help the Eluzians where I can, y’know maybe grab some firewood or help cook breakfast or…”

Pidge very calmly reached over the cot, and squished his face between their hands. “No.”

Lance blinked. Pidge had a small gleam of irritation in their eyes. “You go off and you talk to him, or I will force you both into a room and I swear I will seal the doors on you until you learn to communicate. Also,” Pidge hesitated, and then dropped their hands. “With… without Shiro, we need you and Keith to work together more than ever. Besides, you were the one that suggested a team bonding exercise in the first place. So act like a team.”

“Pidge…” Lance felt a warm bloom of affection in his chest that calmed the wave of cold, nauseating dread. He reached over and ruffled their hair in the way he always did with Alicia. Except his little sister never slapped his hand away or glared at him in return. 

“Lance! I'm not a child—" Pidge tried to push their hair back into place, nose creased in agitation.

“Couldn't help it,” Lance grinned. He didn’t often get to bond with Pidge. Sure, they had some time together at the Garrison, but before he knew about their past, Pidge had distanced themselves from him and Hunk. 

“Do that one more time, and I will tell Keith about the photos you take of him when he's not looking.” Pidge pulled their hands away and glanced over at Lance. 

“W-wait…” Lance froze. “That was one time—okay maybe a couple times? I mean, I had to make sure my camera was working, and he was totally busy on the gladiator at the time so it’s not like he even noticed it was just…” he trailed off. 

Pidge hadn’t even been there at the time. He had just checked the training deck to look for Keith since Shiro had called them all to the command room. But Keith was so wrapped up in his training that he didn't even hear the door open, or Lance call his name. Keith wasn't paying attention, so he wouldn't notice one little picture. 

Pidge had just crafted him a charging station, and he hadn't tested the camera function in a while. Keith was just slightly more interesting than the interior of the ship. It definitely wasn't because he looked incredibly fierce and attractive at the time. And maybe it had been more than one photo. He meant to delete the other ones later. Really. 

The second time had been right after a diplomatic meeting with the Aesphestians, a group of really hot elf-like people with a love for festivals, music, and really good food. Hunk was a big ball of energy and insisted on helping prepare the food to learn more about their style of cuisine. Keith had gone off and away from the festivities like usual. 

Lance found him sitting over the edge of a massive marble bridge that elegantly curved over a cascading green waterfall. The sound of the rushing water drowned out the music and laughter in the distance. The only light came from the planet’s two moons that hung large and imposing in the sky above them. Keith looked so peaceful with the gentle glow of moonlight against his skin, dark hair pulled back, and gaze unfocused as the spray of the waterfall created a fine, misty aura around him. That was one of Lance's favorite pictures honestly. But he would die if Keith knew he had taken them.

“Ha! So you do have pictures,” Pidge reared back in triumph. Lance realized a moment too late this had been a trap. “This may come in handy. Interesting,” Pidge stretched the word as if testing it on their tongue. They tapped a finger against their lips and grinned at him.

“I can’t believe I fell for that!” Irritation swelled inside of him, but the sense of self preservation was stronger and he tried to scramble out of the cot as quickly as possible before Pidge could take advantage of the situation, and the effects of the magic that apparently would not leave him alone. 

Lance was halfway to the hut’s exit when his ribs gave a sharp protest and he doubled over in momentary pain. Pidge was not sympathetic. 

“How many pictures of Keith do you have on your phone?” Pidge asked. Lance wanted more than anything to turn away and head outside. That stupid warm, bubbly sensation hit him again and the words spilled out without his consent. 

“I-I don’t know, it’s not like I counted!” Lance hissed. 

Pidge smirked, and then slowly stood up from the cot and adjusted it, quietly letting the anticipation build. Again, Lance tried to stand straight up, but his body screamed at him for moving too quickly. But he would not use the crutch again. He could do this. 

“More than one, then. Two? Three?” Lance glared at Pidge. “Let’s guess. If you need to count them, maybe a dozen? We should share them with Keith—” 

“Okay, okay. I get it! Yes, I mean, there are a lot of… photos… don’t you dare say a thing, Pidge. I won’t touch your hair again, alright?” He managed to stand upright through sheer force of pride, and turned to leave just to distance himself from the torment he knew Pidge could dish out. 

“Just so we’re clear,” Pidge grinned. “Now, go find Keith.” 

Lance grumbled as the flap closed behind him and he made his way through the throng of Eluzians to the blue lion, where a small circle of Eluzian children stood. At least he assumed they were children, from their height. They were about as tall as Pidge, some shorter. They were gathered around, and looked up at the lion with wide, uncertain eyes.

“She’s not gonna bite,” Lance slipped a hand over his hip and grinned at the group of kids as they jumped and turned around in surprise. 

“These creatures, are they alive or machine?” One of the children asked. He was taller with a blue tinge to his skin and bangles up and down his arms. All three of his eyes were wide with curiosity.

“Honestly?” Lance shrugged. “We don’t know a lot about the lions. Only that they're definitely able to think and act on their own, and they're crazy powerful in a fight. Blue can freeze things in an instant, or swim as gracefully as a mermaid, or shoot lasers strong enough to cut through Galran warships," Lance waved his good arm while he talked. He used sound effects to emphasize his points as he mimicked his lion’s powerful abilities. 

“Did you fight against Zarkon?” The Eluzian with the bangles asked. His eyes were almost spherical, and the other children made noises of glee or awe as they approached the lion. Lance could feel Blue's mild amusement. 

Lance grinned, “Oh yeah. We’re the Paladins of Voltron, defenders of the known universe. When the five of us come together to form Voltron, there’s nothing that can stand in our way. We sent Zarkon packing with his tail between his legs, if he’s even alive.” 

There had been no time to search for Zarkon’s body to make absolutely certain, but how could anyone survive a direct hit like that? His armor had been completely destroyed. At least, that was what Lance wanted to think. But things just didn’t feel… completed. Sometimes he still had a horrible nagging sensation that it had been too easy. 

“Five paladins? But there are only four of you here,” another Eluzian with a soft, lilting voice chimed in. She had tiger stripes along her arms, and darker coloring around her eyes. 

Lance’s smile fell as if he had been electrocuted. Ice-cold dread twisted the pit of his stomach, but he tried to fix his expression before any of the Eluzians noticed. 

“We’re… Shiro, he’s…” Lance's chest felt too tight, and a tingling sensation creeped along his arms, and down his spine. He shuddered, and tried his hardest to keep his voice from cracking. 

Gone. Missing. Maybe…maybe…

Lance didn’t want to think the word. The finality of it slammed into him like a head-on collision. His head spun, his stomach dropped, and the world suddenly felt too small and constricted, and at the same time insanely vast and intimidating.

Shiro. Dead.

The word echoed inside of his head. Over and over, incessant and cruel. Each time he felt some of his self control start to slip, and the prickle of tears threatened to spill over if he so much as blinked.

The image of Shiro, their leader, their friend, as transient as footprints washed away by the gentle tide of the ocean. They would never hear his voice again. Or see his calm and collected façade slip to argue, or partake in their stupid pranks, or alien snowball fights in space. He would never burn anything in the ship’s kitchen in an attempt to help cook. No more calculated strategies crafted between the five of them over the comm. Shiro had always been there to correct them if they made a mistake in battle. He was always there to save them. But they hadn't been able to save him.

Lance couldn’t breathe. The sharp sensation of being thrown off balance and yanked forward despite being completely still made him nauseous. His chest was too tight—he was drowning. Shiro couldn't be dead.

He felt a large and gentle hand grip his shoulder. It squeezed until he realized that someone stood next to him. Lance tensed, but looked over at the tall Eluzian. He had a multitude of scars along his body, the clear definition of muscle along his long arms and exposed chest. But he smiled at Lance with surprising warmth. Despite the lack of pupils or eyebrows, Lance could sense an expression of sympathy. 

“Lance, was it? You are very good with the fledglings. I see they greatly admire your vessel. The legend of Voltron once was a common tale in every family, and although it has since passed into legend, I do believe you and your friends are doing an excellent job preserving the integrity and responsibility of the title. My name is Uubrek,” the Eluzian had a way of rounding the vowels that was almost musical. He nodded towards an area a little farther from the curious fledglings that still watched, and guided Lance away so they could speak. 

Lance quickly rubbed at his eyes before the threat of tears could betray him. He knew as soon as it started he would not be able to hide them anymore. 

“Uh,” he wasn’t sure what to say. He had a feeling Uubrek was trying to comfort him. But to be honest Lance didn't even feel like he deserved that kind of praise. Sure, they had defeated Zarkon and stopped his empire for the time being, but they had done it as a team. And they had done it with Shiro at the helm. 

“Our planet was destroyed by the Galra Empire and Zarkon. Eluzia was a beautiful place, and we were a peaceful people. We dealt mostly in the trade of Andentite, a crystal with a high concentration of quintessence. They were used mainly to heal, they served no purpose offensively. But Zarkon’s greed knows no bounds. The Galra enslaved my people, and they mine our resources. We escaped with the hope that one day we may meet someone that will come to our aid.” 

A dark look passed over Uubrek’s face. Lance was reminded of the horrible damage that had been done to the Balmera, and the treatment of the Olkari, and he wondered just how many planets suffered a similar fate. 

“I am sorry, I simply cannot forgive him or what he has done. It is refreshing to see a resistance, to learn that Voltron is our one, true light in this darkness.” Uubrek gazed over at their damaged ship in the distance. Hunk and Pidge were discussing something as they pointed to one of the engines. 

“I have seen the Galra use unrestrained force, and showcase such devastating cruelty. They treat my people like livestock. We suffer beatings, and torture, all for the cruel amusement of the officers. Zarkon is vile,” Uubrek snarled. “If you have lost a friend to him, I understand your suffering. I beg of you not to give up hope, and to continue the fight.” 

Lance swallowed thickly. He looked from Uubrek to the ground and spoke to his boots instead. “Shiro might still be alive. He has to be. We’re going to find him and bring him back. And I promise,” he took a breath and raised his eyes to look at the Eluzian. “We will free your planet. We took out Zarkon, we can destroy the Galra Empire. I promise.” Lance tried his best to keep his voice from cracking.

Uubrek smiled. “I believe you, Paladin. Although things may become difficult for you in the fight ahead. So, I will tell you a secret. Tell me about your world; tell me the color of your sky. What did it look like?” 

Lance wasn’t immediately sure what to say. “The sky? It was blue. Well, not always just blue. Sunrise and sunset painted the horizon in dark reds and vivid oranges, sometimes with tinges of soft pastel pink,” he felt some of his anxiety begin to ebb as he focused on the sky he had not seen in months. He struggled to recall the exact shades of the colors. 

“At twilight, it was more of a dark sapphire blue, with shades of rich violet, and sometimes warm contrasting reds. Twilight was… quiet. In between night and day it was peaceful, I guess. You could see the first stars in the darkest part of the sky, right before true dusk. I dunno why but it was always my favorite time of day. The colors weren't as beautiful as they were at sunset, but the dark violet, and inky black filled with stars… there was something calming about it.” 

Lance took a breath before he continued. “When it would storm, the sky could turn black as obsidian. The clouds would grow heavy with moisture, and span the entire horizon. Bigger than my house, sometimes I couldn’t even see where they ended. Blinding flashes of white-hot lightning would split the sky and race across the clouds in a blink of an eye, brighter than the sun. The rumble that would follow was so loud sometimes you felt it reverberate down to your very core. It was awesome though, when we would get bad storms sometimes I would lay sprawled on my bed and look out the window as the flashes of lightning illuminated the entire sky above the ocean in long, branching patterns. The louder the crash of thunder, the better. It was beautiful, in a terrifying sort of way.”

He took another breath, deeper this time. Uubrek still smiled, so Lance continued. “The sky here is different. Each planet is different. The clouds are all wrong, the colors don’t look right. And the rain, I miss the rain so much… sometimes I would just stand outside and let it soak me down to my skin, warm and gentle.” A bittersweet wave of nostalgia settled over him like a thick, encompassing blanket. 

“Whenever you feel overwhelmed," Uubrek said, "Go back in your mind and recall the details of the sky you love so dearly. Remember the feel of rain against your skin, the smells that meant home. These things will ground you, I promise.” Uubrek placed his large hands on either side of Lance. “This is also how I remember my home planet. It has worked for me for many years, and I hope it will offer you the same comfort. And I do hope you find your lost Paladin. Now, you had business with your friends, I am sure.” Uubrek bowed and raised his arms up and behind him in a strange gesture that Lance wondered was an Eluzian bow. 

“Oh, um, yeah I should find Keith,” Lance attempted to replicate the movement albeit not as well. Uubrek seemed pleased nonetheless. “But thanks. Really.” He grinned, and when he stood straight again he felt better.

He raced to Blue, and his body feelt lighter than usual. Even though he still felt a dull ache in his ribs that protested the movement he ignored it. He placed his hands over the controls and opened his mind to his lion, before he sent a silent greeting. Blue stood up and raised her head, much to the delight of the Eluzian children that still watched from a safe distance. Lance nudged Blue and his lion roared. The children shouted in delight, and moved out of the way as they laughed. And Lance was reminded of why he kept at this day in and day out. They took off and headed above the canopy. 

As soon as they were airborne, Blue inquired about his state with a small nudge of her mind. Lance grinned and shook his head. 

“I’m doin’ better. Hey, girl? That magic that we were hit with, did it affect you at all? I mean, you shut down for a bit.”

Lance winced as he tried to bend his wrist to shift the controls, the splint too bulky and stiff to allow movement. He waited for a response from his partner, and wondered if maybe she was thinking. Eventually he felt the equivalent of a no, a gentle shake of the head.

Lance frowned and looked down at his hands. He wasn't even sure time in the healing pod would heal something like this. It wasn't a physical injury, it was a magical one. He was extremely exhausted in a way he didn't even know was possible, like stitches being pulled too tight.

“Blue…” Lance eyed the landscape around them as he sought out the abandoned buildings that signaled Galran camp. His fingers tightened around the controls as he took a breath. 

“Do you know… why we can’t get the black lion to turn on? I mean, Keith is supposed to lead the team, but he can’t really lead Voltron without Black. And—and if he does end up as leader, I guess he’d be the Black Paladin?” Lance huffed. He couldn't deny the slow ache he felt in his chest every time he realized that Shiro had chosen Keith as their leader. How Shiro must trust him more, believe in him more. 

Keith was skilled as a pilot and a combatant, even if he could be hot-headed and impulsive at times. He charged into any situation without fear or hesitation. Sure, he didn’t always consider the team before himself, but it usually worked in the end. He made it work. He always made everything look so easy.

Keith had garnered Shiro’s respect in a way Lance knew he never could. Shiro didn't look at him the same way, because he wasn't on the same level. He wasn't even in the same building. That was just something he had accepted over time, something he had gotten used to. 

Blue was strangely quiet in a way that made Lance worry. He fidgeted, back going ramrod straight. 

“You… either don’t know, or you can’t tell me,” Lance kept his gaze determinedly on the horizon as he scanned for any break in the trees. “I mean, Keith will be a good leader. Maybe Allura will pilot Red? Allura will be an awesome pilot. The team will be unstoppable with her. Until we find Shiro, right? And then… then we can go back to our normal team.” 

He faltered as a sudden thought crossed his mind. “It will be good to have another pilot in case something happens. Actually, the five of them would make an awesome team. I mean, Shiro is our respected and level-headed leader with a keen eye for observation and tactics. Allura is probably the most amazing person I've ever met. She’s our strength and foundation. She’s confident and knows how to keep us in line—even Shiro. Pidge is a genius. I've never seen anything they can’t do. Pidge is our innovator when things get sticky. And Hunk is super strong. He always thinks of others first, and he’s the voice of reason when the team gets too heated. And Keith? He’s never afraid to run headfirst into a fight no matter the enemy. He’s an ace pilot, a fierce combatant, and his connection with Red Lion is unshakable. 

“I don’t know what the paladins were like before us, but that’s sort of the dream team. Allura would be a great paladin, Blue. Would you let her partner with you if Shiro came back?” Lance nudged his lion gently with his mind when he didn’t get a response. He heard a low, deep sound from her, and he wasn’t sure what it meant. 

“Sorry,” his smile faded a bit. “I'm not leaving or anything. It was just an observation. I think I'd really like to see everyone grow stronger as a team. You’ve been good to me, Blue. And I’m not bad in a fight, I guess. I just… I can’t unlock your powers like everyone else. Maybe I'm just not your true paladin.”

His voice faltered and he kept his eyes on the horizon as he spotted the base he had been looking for. They started to descend, a small peak of a black tower visible from the canopy of the trees. 

He felt a nudge, a little harder than before, and a sensation of warm affection numbed him. He knew Blue was trying to reassure him. He loved Blue, really. But maybe they just weren’t compatible. Their bond wasn’t as strong as Shiro’s with Black Lion, or Keith’s with Red Lion, no matter how much he tried to unlock her abilities.

They landed on the ground gently, despite the thick overgrowth in the area that made the descent difficult. Lance took a long moment to compose himself in the pilot’s chair before he sighed and stood up. This wasn't exactly the spaceship he had imagined as a kid. And no matter how hard he tried, maybe he didn’t have the skills to be the pilot. Even if he would never give up on his team. Maybe he just had to get stronger.

Lance let his hand gently brush against Blue as he exited and made his way to the ground. He rubbed his chest as a small bloom of pain throbbed. He had definitely bruised some ribs, and a lot of other things. He saw the red lion beside a massive door with a large Galran emblem emblazoned on the front. 

He had always been awed at the bond that Keith had with his lion. It was so strong that Red had repeatedly gone off to find and save him, despite long distances or enemy cover. Lance wondered how Red would feel with Keith as the Black Paladin? He glanced up at the lion with unsure, open eyes as he walked past. 

Somehow he felt like he was being judged, though he couldn't imagine why. His eyes moved back towards Blue in the distance and he wondered if the other lions talked to each other. What did Red think about his relationship with Blue? 

Keith had obviously left the lion because it was definitely immobile. Lance’s eyes moved towards the large door. It was sealed shut, but there was a small hole in the side of the wall where a person could squeeze through. He ducked down, and slid through the narrow space with a grunt. 

It was dark inside. There were no lights, obviously, and the only light he had came from the hole in the wall that led outside. Lance squinted and then attempted to open his eyes as wide as he could to adjust. 

“Oh right,” his hand slipped to his belt and he pulled out a small utility tool Coran had given them all some time back. It was a lot like a human Swiss Army knife, only this one had all sorts of cool Altean tools. The small flashlight that flipped out used crystals to emit a pale blue glow. 

“Thaaaat’s better,” Lance grinned as he stepped through the long, black hallway. It was vast-a building with thirteen-foot ceilings, and massive metal doors. Militaristic and sterile. His boots echoed against the floor, the sound bounced off the cold, empty walls. He felt a chill run down his spine as he approached an insanely long corridor lined with rows upon rows of doors. Some were closed, and some were partially opened but pitch black inside. He couldn’t see past the scope of his flashlight, and the darkness enveloped him from all sides. His imagination was killing him. 

He felt goosebumps under his paladin suit, and bit his lip as he cautiously peeked around the doorway of an open room, the inky blackness inside far too dark for his eyes to adjust to. He swallowed and wrapped his hands around the frame before he peered fully around the corner. His heart raced in his chest as his eyes struggled to see. The flashlight couldn’t fully illuminate the room inside.

“Okay, Lance don’t be a chicken. This is stupid, you're awesome. You're brave, you're a freaking paladin of Voltron, you're, uh… definitely not going to run into another one of those ghost aliens, or a lone Galra or—”

He had just managed to head around the corner when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. His flashlight fell to the floor and he shrieked. As he pulled away and twisted he lost his balance, and landed hard on the floor in the pitch-black room. 

The flashlight landed away from him, the beam pointed the wrong direction. All he could see was a slight outline of a figure. His hand went to his side to retrieve his Bayard but before he could pull it out he felt a hand grip his wrist. 

“Lance! What the hell are you doing out here?” That was definitely Keith’s voice. 

Lance exhaled and tried to calm the frantic beating in his chest. “Oh, y’know… just taking a stroll. And looking for you.” He shrugged in an attempt to look nonchalant despite his scream a few seconds earlier. It wasn’t like Keith could see him, or the deep red color on his cheeks. 

“How did you know it was me?” Lance blinked, but he still couldn’t make out Keith’s features. Where was his flashlight? 

“I could hear you from a mile away,” Keith deadpanned. “You walk too loudly. And you talk to yourself.”

“It’s pitch black!” Lance shouted and his voice echoed off the walls of the room they were in. “How can you even see?”

Keith dropped his hand and stepped back. Lance absently brushed his fingers across his wrist where his touch had been a moment before. Too bad his gloves prevented skin on skin contact. 

“I can see pretty well in the dark, I guess. Always have been able to,” Keith muttered. 

Lance grumbled and moved to grab his flashlight. He didn't care what Keith said, it was too dark to see anything. He paused as his fingers wrapped around the flashlight. 

“You can… hear pretty well too,” Lance commented. “I don’t walk _that_ loudly.” He slowly picked up the flashlight and brought it back so he could see Keith’s face. Keith looked pained. Immediately Lance pushed himself up and moved to stand closer to him. 

“Keith, are you okay? You look…” he trailed off, his hand moved on instinct to reach out but he hesitated and let it drop awkwardly back to his side. 

“It’s nothing. Just-I'm fine.” Keith actually moved away from him. Lance rested a hand over his hip and frowned. 

“Yeah, you don’t look fine. If this is about what—what I said last night,” Lance trailed off. “You can just forget it ever happened, just uh, maybe we can go back to being whatever we were before. I hit my head, and things just started coming out and… just treat it like a bad dream or something, alright?” 

Keith looked like he had been slapped. Lance took a breath. He could feel the familiar creep of anxiety begin to root. 

“No!” Keith shouted, his voice echoed against the walls even louder than lance’s had. He recoiled a bit, but didn’t unclench his fists. “It’s not that,” he said quickly “I mean, it’s sort of that. But it’s not what you think.” he made a frustrated noise and turned his head away. 

“You’ve… just got a lot on your mind?” Lance supplied. He remembered Keith’s words form last night. He wasn't sure he was relieved to hear that he wasn't Keith's only source of anxiety or not. 

“Lance,” Keith crossed his arms tightly over his chest. Lance lowered the flashlight slightly and looked down. They were in some sort of command room; there were pieces of old equipment everywhere. Wires and glass littered the floor. Lance could hear it crunch underneath his boots as he shifted his weight. 

“Do you mean what you just said just now?” Keith's question caught him off guard. Lance stopped and his eyes widened. 

He really hoped Keith couldn't see as well as he said he could, because his face was an open book at the moment. 

Yes. Tell him yes. 

Just one freaking word, to patch up everything—the entire mess he had made last night. He needed to keep the team together, he needed to keep everyone in line and strong and focused and put his own needs second. He had to make them smile and laugh and distract them when things got serious. He had to bring back the Hunk he knew, and rescue Pidge from their self-imposed isolation, and take away all their insecurities and doubts. He just had to say yes. 

Lance bit his tongue until he felt a sharp tingle spread through him like pins and needles. He scrunched his nose, looked down, and focused on that one word over and over again until he felt the sting of tears at his eyes. It went from uncomfortable to painful in a matter of a minute. 

“No,” he choked. The word was ripped from him and his hands trembled at his sides. He couldn’t look up at Keith. “No, I don’t. I don’t want you to forget. I-I meant what I said.”

But Lance heard a soft sigh, and he thought he could hear a smile in Keith’s voice. “Good. Uh, you know it’s not your fault. The way I’m feeling. I mean, it was a lot to take in because I didn’t think you felt that way. But, I’m not weirded out, I’m actually…” Keith trailed off as he looked away and struggled to find his words. 

Lance raised his head, the smallest bit of hope inside of him. He saw Keith grip one arm with his hand as he looked at the ground. “I could, answer some questions if you want. To… even the score?” Keith shrugged with one shoulder. “I’ll answer honestly.”

Lance furrowed his brows and swallowed, “What you mean if I ask you stuff?” Keith nodded. Lance chewed on his bottom lip as he thought about the offer. 

He took a breath. He had a million questions, and he didn’t know where to start. He didn’t even know if Keith would answer them honestly. But he had a feeling that he could trust him. 

“What are you doing out here all by yourself anyway?” Lance glanced over and tested the waters. He started with a slow, easy question. 

Keith looked uncertain for a moment despite the easy question, and his shoulders went taut. For a second Lance didn't think he would even answer. 

Eventually, Keith sighed. He turned around, and moved his hand until his fingers brushed against the control panel behind him. Almost immediately, the room illuminated with a faint purple glow as screens all around them came to life one by one. They were cracked, the words indecipherable, but Lance could see now that they were in a large control room filled with massive machines, computers, and discarded pieces of metal and wire.

Lance slowly spun around, and took in everything around them. When he landed on Keith, the dark-haired paladin was watching him with wary eyes. He still had a hand on the controls and his eyebrows were furrowed in a way that made him look vaguely apprehensive.

For a moment, the two of them only stared. Lance could feel all of the implications, all of the unsaid words hang heavy between them. It wasn't the first time he had seen Keith do this. He had done it before, back before he knew why he was able to do it at all. But now, with the full weight of what it meant on his shoulders, it felt different. 

“I-I was looking for answers, I guess," Keith started. "A clue as to where my mom might be, who she might be. Why I… why I was never given any information. Just left with this,” he pulled out the blade from its sheath, the one he had when they first met. The one he always carried with him as a second weapon. Lance had always wondered why, when they had their Bayards and their lions. Now he knew. 

Keith turned it over in his hand almost reverently. Lance swallowed and took a step towards him.

“Is that… does that mean your mom is Galra?” Lance eyed the symbol engraved on the hilt of the blade. Keith nodded once, tersely. “Did you get that from her?” Again, another nod. 

Lance’s fingers twitched at his sides and he took another tentative step forward. “Do you remember her?”

Keith shook his head this time. “No, not really. I was too young, I guess. My dad died when I was real little. I never knew my mom, so I wound up in foster care. Until I met Shiro.”

Lance stopped. He felt his heart skip in his chest, and he was almost afraid to ask. But Keith kept talking. 

“Shiro was a… stabilizing figure for me. He would visit me all the time as some sort of volunteer service thing for his school. Even after his hours were met, he came back to see me. He would take me out and talk about the program he was applying to. He was in an advanced course that studied astroexploration and aerospace engineering. He told me about the Galaxy Garrison where he wanted to apply, and I really wanted to see it. So one day I snuck off and into the facility. Only I was caught by some kid that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” 

Lance bristled. “Hey! I was there first!” but Keith had a soft smile on his face, so Lance cut himself off. 

“After that day I got in huge trouble. But Shiro intervened. He wasn’t that much older than me, but he was so mature and so amazing I just… I think I'd do whatever he told me to. He had a talk with me, and told me to behave myself, and that when I was old enough he could get me into the Garrison program. I never really knew my family, but he was the closest thing I've ever had.”

Lance felt a flood of affection wash over him as he stared at Keith. He took in the small smile on his face and the soft glint in his eyes. So he was in foster care back then, and Shiro had been like an older brother for him. 

“When I found out I was Galra, I was sure that he would hate me,” Keith’s voice wavered. “I thought you all would. I was the enemy; I was what we were fighting against. And I felt like I was lying to you all, this whole time. I had these dreams, these nightmares, I would look in the mirror and I wasn’t myself. I wouldn’t even recognize what I saw and it terrified me.”

Keith’s voice shook as he spoke. Lance took a final step forward to close the distance between them, and placed his hand over Keith’s on the control panel. The other paladin went rigid, but didn’t move away. 

“Keith,” Lance looked over at their hands and took a breath. “You know the first thing I thought when I found out? It wasn’t fear or revulsion or anything. Was I surprised? Um, yeah. You didn’t _look_ like a Galra. But actually, I was hurt. You didn’t tell anyone on the team, not even Shiro. I felt like you didn’t trust us enough. Sometimes when you make decisions or go off on your own, I feel like you can’t depend on us to help. You take the whole world on your shoulders, and you don’t have to.” 

Keith made a frustrated noise and yanked his hand away, but the screens remained illuminated. He turned on Lance. “I have to fight for myself! That’s all I’ve ever known, okay? You wouldn’t be so… so accepting if one day I just didn’t look human anymore! Allura hated me, she still doesn’t see me the same way she did before.” 

Lance shook his head. “Allura lost everything she ever knew to the Galra Empire, Keith! It’s going to take some time for her to fully come around. I think… she was probably hurt, too.” Lance faltered, his eyes sought Keith’s. “If you turned purple—which you’re not going to—it’s not going to affect the fact that you’re still _Keith_. You’re still our kickass red paladin, our teammate, our… friend.” 

Lance stumbled over the word. Friends, they were definitely friends. Even if sometimes he wanted them to be so much closer than that, so much more. The word just wasn’t enough to fit the intensity of what he felt. 

Keith’s eyes widened, but the scowl still remained painted on his face. “You don’t know what might happen to me. For all you know, I might wake up tomorrow looking…” he gestured wildly with one hand. “Besides, it’s not just physical appearance. I can see in the dark, I can hear things at night from several rooms away. I—sometimes I get really angry, I feel this overwhelming urge to lash out. And more than once I’ve wanted to really, _really_ hurt someone. I should be terrified, but I’m not. That’s not normal, Lance! If I wake up one day, and I don’t even recognize the me staring back, I—I don’t know what I’d do.” 

Keith’s voice cracked, and his face fell. He looked lost and vulnerable in a way Lance had never seen him before. Even in the dim light from the monitors, Lance could see the gleam of tears in his eyes, and it broke him. He inhaled sharply and reached out before he could stop himself. 

Lance’s fingers tentatively brushed Keith’s face, until his hands cupped his cheeks. Keith was warm under his touch, the hair that brushed the pads of his fingers where they curled was softer than it looked. He gazed into Keith’s eyes and bent his neck until their foreheads touched. Keith’s breath hitched, the air hot against Lance’s face. This close, he could see the different shades of violet in the other paladin’s wide eyes.

“Your eyes are like twilight,” Lance smiled softly. They calmed him in the same way. He knew that was another little fact he had meant to keep to himself locked away forever, but it was worth it for the effect it had. Keith’s face warmed up under his hands as his cheeks turned bright red. 

“No matter what happens,” Lance breathed, “I’ll always be here. Even if one day you wake up and you look more Galra than human, even if you lose yourself to anger or instinct, I’ll be here to pull you back. I—” he closed his eyes tightly, and willed his heart to slow down.

Even if he wanted to stop himself, even if the magic didn’t force him to spill everything until there was nothing left of him to give, he couldn’t stop. “I’ll always be here. Until you… until you don’t want me anymore.” 

He heard Keith suck in a breath and he wished he was brave enough to open his eyes. He had meant to offer comfort; he had wanted to wrap his arms around the other paladin until all thoughts of being discarded or hated disappeared. He wasn’t sure how much comfort he offered, he could only give himself. He wasn’t the strongest or the smartest of the team, he wasn’t Shiro, but he would do everything in his power to save Keith from hating himself. 

And then he felt warm hands cover his own, and he opened his eyes in shock. Keith smiled. Oh god, Lance had never seen him look like that before. His eyes still held the promise of tears, but his expression was soft in a way that made Lance sure his heart would burst. 

He stared, even as Keith lowered their hands and tightened his own around them. He was warm, his fingers calloused and firm. Lance wondered how they would fit together if he laced their fingers. 

“You… might be here for a long time then.” Keith still had a dusting of red across his face and he dropped his eyes. Lance took a long moment to process his words. And then process them again to make sure he hadn’t imagined them. 

He was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. There was no way Keith would ever have said that to him. 

But it might be totally platonic. In a friendship sort of way. Friends said that sort of stuff about each other, probably. Even if he never would have said something like this to Pidge or Hunk in a million years. 

“D-does that mean you’re not freaked out by my, um,” Lance felt his own face get warm as he stuttered. “By the fact that I l-like you? Not in a let’s be bros kind of way, but in a ‘I really want to kiss you and may have thought about how your lips would feel against mine more than once’ sort of way?” 

Oh crap. Abort mission. Abort. Mission. He panicked as words started to spill out again. 

Keith’s eyes widened again and he made a sort of coughing noise. “You what?” 

“Uh, well,” Lance reeled. “I said I liked you, and I might have thought about you and me a lot. As in, together. You’re really hot, and an amazing pilot, and I may have had a crush on you for a while that I sort of covered up with banal insults when you forgot me to hide how much I still liked you. B-but I get it if you just forget I ever said that. You meant that in a completely platonic way, let’s be pals, amigos, bud—”

Keith actually _growled_. He moved his hands to grip the collar of Lance’s paladin suit and he pushed him back onto the control panel. It wasn’t done with much force, but Lance stumbled and found himself pinned beneath Keith anyway. Keith moved his hands to either side to cage him. 

“Lance,” Keith breathed. And his eyes were dark underneath the fringe of lashes. “Read the mood.” Without another word, he leaned forward.

Lance’s breath caught in his throat as his gaze fell to Keith’s lips. They were so close Lance could feel the dark-haired boy’s warm breath against his mouth. He angled his head, and reached up to close the distance between them. His eyes fluttered shut just as he felt the soft press of lips against his own. He pressed harder in return, his own lips parted in invitation. 

Lance moaned into the kiss, unable to stop himself. Fantasy did not compare to reality at all. He reached his hand up to thread his fingers though Keith’s hair. He tugged lightly and Keith made a noise in his throat before he kissed back hard enough to bruise. Despite the heat between their open mouths, Lance shivered. 

Keith kissed to dominate, and Lance couldn’t help but push back. His eyes opened, he pulled back a fraction, and gently teased Keith’s lower lip with his teeth eliciting a moan from the other that shot straight through him. He slowly, lovingly touched his lips to the corner of Keith’s mouth, along his jaw line, and against his pulse point. He varied the pressure and intensity of each kiss, depending on the noises the other made. He reveled in the growl of frustration when the pace was too slow. Keith moved one hand and curled his fingers tightly against Lance’s waist. Their hips brushed and Lance let out a breathy noise of appreciation at the added friction. 

“Hng… K-Keith,” Lance pulled back and craned his neck, overheated and dizzy in the best way possible. His good hand moved to grip Keith’s back, fingers digging into the fabric beneath the armor. Their paladin suits were not conducive to this sort of activity and he hated them at this moment.

“Hmm,” Keith’s voice was low and breathy. He brushed his lips over Lance’s exposed neck in a mimicry of what had been done to him moments earlier. Keith’s mouth was hot and wet against the bare skin, and he sucked hard enough to leave a mark. The sensation made Lance shudder. He _knew_ it was going to be too high up for his collar to cover. That thought didn’t annoy him as much as it should have, despite the fact Keith probably did it on purpose. 

Lance’s breath caught in his throat as Keith pulled back. He gripped Keith’s back harder and shifted so their hips slotted together again. He pushed upwards in retaliation, and Keith made a satisfying groan as his body tensed in response. 

“Lance—” When Keith growled at him, Lance couldn’t help but smirk. Keith’s pupils were blown wide with arousal, despite his furrowed brow. 

“Hmm?” Lance leaned forward, his lips just a hair’s breadth away. He looked up through lidded eyes, lips pulled up at one corner in a teasing smile. 

Keith opened his mouth to say something, when the sound of static startled them both. Lance’s eyes fell to the floor, where Keith’s discarded helmet lay. He hadn’t even noticed it until now. The static sounded again, and Allura’s voice filled the room. 

Suddenly, it felt very awkward to be situated like this. Keith moved away first and Lance followed quickly. He rubbed his neck where the hickey was definitely going to form, and blushed as he wondered if Allura had heard any of that through the comm. But the mic was probably off. He hoped. 

“Paladins, can you hear me? You have company fast approaching from the west. A Galra ship is entering Kestia’s atmosphere. I can take out the ion cannons on the main ship, but we can’t handle all of the fighters. Please, get to your lions!” 

Keith moved immediately. He turned and reached for his helmet, switched the mic on his helmet and slipped it on. 

“We’re here, Allura. Lance’s helmet is still broken, but he’s here with me. We’re on it.” 

Lance ran a hand through his hair, the confusion and disappointment slowly being replaced with the adrenaline of imminent battle. He hadn’t even thought of his helmet until now. It meant that he wouldn’t have a line of communication with the others. 

“Lance,” Keith turned to look at him. “You’re still injured, and you don’t have your helmet. Stay out of sight, and try to keep a low profile. Take out any fighters you can lure away, but don’t put yourself onto the front lines. We still only have four of us, we have to be cautious.” 

Lance didn’t like the plan. But he also couldn’t disagree with it. “Yeah, alright.” 

Keith was already running for the exit. Stupid Galra that could see in the dark. Lance moved to grab his flashlight from where it had fallen and he quickly followed suit down the hallway. He squeezed through the hole near the door and stumbled outside. Despite the heat, it was almost a relief to be outside in fresh air again. He ran for Blue, just as Keith activated Red. 

His ribs protested as he ran, but he ignored them. They had to fight off the Galra before any of the Eluzians were harmed. But what the hell were they doing here anyway? There was no way for them to track the black lion, and this base looked like it had been abandoned for years. And who was leading them?

Lance pulled himself back into the cockpit and his hands reached out for the controls as soon as he strapped himself in place. It was strange being cut off from the others, but he used the trees as a line of cover as he scanned his radar for a good target. He heard explosions behind him and the sound of metal crunching. 

“Hey, is that…” Lance peered closely at the radar. The dot on screen was larger than the fighters but not as large as the main ship. A prisoner ship, he realized. He thought of Shiro, and while he didn’t think they’d be that lucky he had to try. There might be some sort of information on what happened to him on there, and if not he could at least rescue some prisoners.

Lance cursed as he realized he had no way to alert the others. Blue turned and twisted through the trees, and he bit his lip as he considered his options. Prisoner ships usually weren’t as equipped for battle as the other types of Galran spacecrafts. He could break in, rescue the captives, and get out. Pidge’s cloaking device would be best here, but maybe if he could disrupt their radar long enough to get Blue close… 

Lance checked his screens. All three of them were under heavy fire. He couldn’t distract them even for a moment without risking their safety. And Allura? He looked at her screen. Coran was still gone it seemed, and she focused everything onto maintaining the particle barrier. 

“Okay,” he breathed out. He pictured the warm, vivid colors of the sky, and then he pushed Blue towards the Galra ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Nothing past make outs for future reference. Why? Because I'm not very good at it, aaaaaand they're 17.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance proves you can be smart and still make poor decisions. The poor boy gets badly hurt, and Keith gets angry. 
> 
> As always, I love all of you! Each comment and kudos gives me extreme joy. Seriously.

Lance never let his eyes wander far from the prisoner ship. He glanced at his screens every few seconds, and his hands tightened around the controls as he tried to think of a way to communicate with the rest of the team without breaking from under the jungle canopy, or alerting the enemy to his presence. 

The closer he got, the faster his mind raced. If they were underwater it would be no problem to knock out their radar for a few minutes. But they weren’t, this planet couldn’t be further from the water planet where he discovered Blue’s ability. It was hot, Allura said the atmosphere was thin, so thin that the heat from their star was almost unbearable. 

“Okay, think Lance. Think,” He chewed on his lip as he lowered Blue’s position and slowed their speed. The small white alien from before had completely short-circuited Blue when that spell was cast. He thought that was weird at the time since obviously, the lions weren’t affected by magic. At least, not something like a truth spell. So what was the point of attacking Blue at all? Unless it wasn’t on purpose, unless it was a side effect from using the magic in the first place, and it had something to do with the atmosphere itself. 

A charge…

“Hey girl, we’re going to try something here. And uh, I have no idea if it’ll work.” Lance took a deep breath, stopped their advance, and closed his eyes as he tried to convey his plan. It was mostly vague pictures and ideas, but Blue must have caught on because he heard a low hum of approval. 

Lance nodded his head and focused. To be honest, he didn’t even know what quintessence was, only that Allura had said it existed in all living things and that a paladin's mirrored their lions. But from how he had seen it used, he had a _decent_ idea of how he might be able to use it. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a plan, more of a vague idea. He didn’t even know how to concentrate his quintessence, how to feel it or focus it. 

After a few minutes of feeling absolutely nothing Lance screwed up his face, and grumbled in frustration. He felt stupid. He was just about to open his eyes and say screw it, when Blue nudged him gently. She didn’t so much give him instructions as a… feeling. He couldn’t describe it, but he held onto that feeling and focused on it. His breathing slowed, his muscles relaxed, his senses muted. The feeling became a sound, a humming. He could feel the vibrations of that sound throughout his body. 

And then he felt the same vibrations from outside his body, and all around him. It became stronger until the sensation almost overwhelmed him, everything hyper-focused on that frequency. When he opened his eyes he didn’t see as himself, but through his lion’s eyes. Just for a second, and then he felt that powerful energy forced from him, from the both of them, like he had let out all of the air in his lungs. 

The Galra prisoner ship in front of them went dark. Every light flickered and died at once. They hadn’t just short-circuited the radar, they had affected the whole _thing_. It worked. 

“Boom, Baby!” Lance laughed and threw his fist up in the air for an imaginary fist bump with Blue. His lion, unfortunately, didn’t understand the gesture. But he felt a small wave of amusement from his partner anyway. 

Still, he wasn’t sure how long they had before the systems came back online, or before the ship started a descent towards the planet’s surface. He pushed the controls forward as far as they could go, and only winced briefly when he moved his bad wrist wrong. 

Blue took off as they finally broke the canopy, and headed for the belly of the ship. He chanced a look at the screens, but they flickered in and out. Hopefully he hadn’t affected the other lions with the blast. Lance actually felt the first wave of doubt as they latched onto the bottom of the prisoner ship, and used the jaw blade to cut a hole into the plating. 

But the screens came back on, and despite not being able to hear any words from his teammates, they all looked fine. Allura looked mildly confused, and Keith seemed to be heatedly discussing something. Lance wished he knew how to read lips. As soon as he realized all of the other lions were alright, he had Blue rip away the piece of the ship they had cut into. Lance locked the controls and put Blue into standby, as he unbuckled himself and raced from the cockpit and outside. 

As soon as he left the safety of his lion, Lance realized just how incredibly _windy_ it was. Sure, they were really high up, but he knew without his jetpack he never would have made the jump to the ship. He didn’t land gracefully, but jumping inside a spacecraft while under the influence of a planet’s atmosphere and gravity was a lot harder than doing it in open space. 

He cursed under his breath as he rubbed his tailbone, and struggled to gain his footing. The whole windy thing was not any easier to deal with while inside the ship, considering the massive hole tunneled the wind through the narrow space. He wondered if this was what it felt like to go skydiving, y’know without the fun part. 

Lance stumbled forward and away from the hole. The lights in the ship flickered back to life, and illuminated the walkway with thin purple lines reminiscent of a movie theater. No guards had come to check on the sound, although he hoped most of them were still distracted with the power outage. 

“Okay, so now what?” He moved quickly through the corridor, his Bayard activated at his side. He realized with dismay that he actually had no idea how these ships were laid out, or where they might keep the prisoners. He had only been in one before, and he really missed having Pidge around to guide him. 

The Galra were really fond of the whole black and purple décor style. The entire ship mimicked the abandoned base on the planet below, cold metal surfaces, massive doors—the usual. He moved as quickly and quietly as he could, but he still thought of Keith’s earlier observation about walking too loud. 

It wasn’t like he did it on purpose, Galra just had keener senses. And he was surrounded by them. Crap. 

“Just keep it cool,” Lance breathed. He leaned his back against the wall and clutched his Bayard tight to his chest. It was mostly Sentries in here. No reason to spare soldiers for a transport ship. Unless there _were_ high-level prisoners on board. In which case… well, Lance would figure that out later. 

He was about to round a corner when he spotted a small, inconspicuous device on the ceiling. Surveillance cameras. Someone watched those, and if the alarm was sounded Lance wasn’t sure he’d have time to find the prisoners let alone rescue them. 

He pulled his head back and shifted his Bayard, his finger rested lightly against the trigger. If he could aim just right, he could knock it out without moving into the camera’s line of sight. Lance shifted his body and raised the gun slowly. He calculated how far he could move before any part of him would be seen. His eyes focused on the small device, and he imagined a line from his position towards the ceiling. It was a small target, but stationary, which was easier than a moving target any day. He aimed carefully, took a deep breath in, and then slowly released it. When the last of the air left him, his finger squeezed the trigger. 

The surveillance camera shattered. Score one for Lance. 

“One down,” He released the trigger, and darted around the corner. The farther in he went, the more it became obvious that the Galra did not know how to properly set up a security system. Though, after ten thousand years in power, Lance supposed anyone would become a little lax. There weren’t many cameras or drones about, and when there were they were easy to take out. 

He was about to sprint down the next hallway when he heard the metallic clang of Sentry footsteps. He dared a small peek, and sure enough he saw two walking in perfect sync. He could shoot one, but that would alert the other. Which would mean return fire, or worse, an alarm signal. 

This is what close-range weapons were good for, but Lance would be the first to admit hand-to-hand was definitely not his specialty. That was Shiro, or Keith’s area of expertise. 

His eyes darted to the nearest door on his right and he took a chance. Turns out it was a pretty good choice, because it led downwards to a different area of the ship. And things started to look familiar. Galra seemed to keep their prisoners near the bottom the ship. 

It was all a little dungeon-y, in his opinion, but there was probably some sort of strategic reason for it. Lance wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but since the power had come back on he fully expected this ship to either bring the assault to the other lions, or towards the makeshift camp the Eluzians had created. He didn’t have a lot of time. 

Lance’s hand moved towards his ear out of habit, about to touch his comm. He made a face when he realized his mistake, and sprinted down the stairs to the lowest level of the ship. There was a door here, and it was locked with a recognition scanner. Thankfully Pidge had implanted a small Galra chip into their gloves that would mimic a Galra’s handprint, similar to a piece of tape that lifted a fingerprint. 

“You’re a genius, Pidge,” Lance murmured as he placed his hand over the scanner. It unlocked the door for him, and he bolted inside. 

The Sentries would probably make their way down here next. This level was a long, skinny hallway without anywhere to hide. There were rows upon rows of cells, and Lance had to peer inside each one. Most were empty, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. 

“Shit,” Lance felt his stomach drop as he looked into the tenth empty cell. What if this ship wasn’t carrying any prisoners at all? He stumbled as he turned and raced to the next cell. He didn’t expect to see a small figure, huddled towards the back. Lance pulled back. He aimed his blaster at the control panel, released a shot to destroy the lock, and the door opened. Again, the Galra really didn’t have the best security, but he wasn’t complaining. 

“Hey, I’m here to rescue you. You alright to move?” The creature turned to look at him, it was small and furry like an opossum with longer legs. It was sort of adorable, and he wasn’t sure why anyone would want to lock up something so cute. But most of the Galra were heartless dicks, so he wasn’t surprised. 

The small creature made a series of noises that didn’t translate, and Lance wasn’t sure whether he was too far from Blue for it to work, or if these creatures only communicated that way. Probably the latter. The small alien followed him anyway, and Lance continued to peek into each of the cells. He blasted open the doors with anyone inside. Sometimes there was one, sometimes two, or three to a cell. He neared the end, and by then he had gathered a rag-tag team behind him—aliens of all shapes and sizes. But no sign of Shiro. 

He wasn’t sure what he expected. Shiro’s entire body had just disappeared without warning, without a word. Still, some small stupid part of Lance had hoped that maybe he might get lucky. He wondered if this was how Pidge used to feel, before they found out Matt had been taken by the rebels. 

Lance faltered at the end of the row, he faced the wall, and battled conflicting emotions of relief and disappointment. 

“We should hurry, young one,” A blue-scaled alien with the greenest eyes Lance had ever seen stepped forward, thick-limbed and tall. They had a pair of massive wings on their back, like a bat or a dragon. “We will not be alone long.” 

Lance had to force a smile, “Right, right,” he turned and started back down the long hallway. “Let’s—”

He had just turned when he heard the shot. It sailed just over his shoulder and into the door of one of the now empty cells. Lance spun around, and the two Sentries from earlier stood at the door, weapons raised. Their helmets flashed, and robotic voices called out a warning. 

“Intruder detected. Surrender your weapon.” 

Lance whipped out his weapon and aimed, but the prisoners he had rescued all began to move at once, and he couldn’t get a clean shot on either Sentry. “Wait, clam down!” Lance sucked in a breath, and tried to move through the throng of panicked prisoners. 

To his surprise, the scaled alien turned and rushed forward. It was then he noticed that the wings on the creature’s back were clipped and badly damaged, but intimidating enough. The alien ripped the head clean off one of the Sentries with a loud cry, and Lance took the opportunity to shoot the other in the ensuing chaos. Both metal bodies clattered loudly to the floor. 

“Nice,” Lance grinned. Dragon aliens were pretty badass. Lance wondered what the name of their species was. The blue alien dropped the head of the one Sentry, and looked over at him with those vivid green eyes. 

“What is… nice, young one?” 

Lance shook his head. “Uh, never mind. You can call me Lance, by the way.” 

“Lance. I am called Axus.” Axus nodded in a way Lance figured was friendly. The small, opossum-like creature nudged his ankle, and Lance snapped back to the present situation.

“This way,” Lance gestured for the rest of the prisoners to follow, after the panic had worn off. He could still sense the fear in the air, and he wondered just how many of the prisoners were unable to fight. Most species were probably peaceful, or neutral. And yet, all of them ended up in the arena in the end. How many had already been killed for senseless sport? How many more were forced to work themselves to death in the mines, or work camps?

Lance’s hand tightened around his Bayard and he pushed himself to run faster. He wove through the corridors, glad that he had a good sense of direction. Man, he really wanted to know what was going on outside. How were the others doing? Had the main ship been taken out? Without Voltron…

“Lance!” Axus cried out. Lance looked over at them in surprise. And then he followed Axus’ line of sight, and realized why they sounded concerned. There were about a dozen Sentries that blocked their way. If he remembered right, just past that area should be the escape pods. Docked and ready, in the event of a crash landing. 

“I’ll clear a path, those that can fight push forward. The rest of you follow behind, the escape pods should be just beyond this area,” Lance gestured with one arm. They were too close now. Just a little further. 

His heart raced too fast for his body to keep up, the adrenaline just barely kept the ache of his bruised ribs at bay. Everything moved so fast, his eyes could barely keep up. He felt the group of prisoners move, some raced towards the Sentries, but without weapons they didn’t have much of a chance. Lance fired off as many shots as he could, but the Sentries were firing back and he had to move to keep from getting hit. 

Lance heard grunts and cries of pain, some of the prisoners had managed to knock down the Galra forces, but many were injured in the process. Loud battle cries echoed around the corridor as Axus ripped Sentry after Sentry to pieces, claws tore through metal as their thick tail lashed out and crushed yet another against a wall.

And then, a shot pierced through Axus’ shoulder. Lance cried out too late. There was a snarl of pain before the offending Sentry was knocked against the far wall so hard their metal arm disconnected and clattered to the floor. Axus drew their arm back with a huff.

“No, oh crap,” Lance missed his shot as one of the Sentries came towards him. His hands shook and he took another, and another, eventually piercing the metal plating and knocking it to the ground. Everyone was getting hurt. He was supposed to bring everyone to safety, it wasn’t supposed to go like this. 

“It’s nothing,” Axus clasped a hand over the injury, but Lance could definitely tell it was something. The blood that came out was darker than human blood, but blood all the same. And many of the others were injured as well. 

“It’s okay,” Lance breathed. “It’s okay, we’re almost there.” He helped a small elderly-looking alien with a bushy pink unibrow to their feet, one hand on a bony shoulder. This was war, and he knew that. He did. Sometimes there were casualties. But… he had come so far. His hands shook as he tried to help another spindly alien despite a deep wound in their side. 

“Lance,” Axus moved their uninjured arm, and helped another prisoner to walk. “I will take them to the escape pods. Return to your ship, wherever it is.” 

“Right,” Lance looked around him. There was blood on the floor, and parts of the Sentries still twitched and twisted as if alive. “There’s a ship, ah, a big white ship just outside of Kestia’s atmosphere. Send a hailing frequency, when the coast is clear.” 

Axus smiled. Or Lance thought they did. It was a bit hard to tell. “Thank you. I hope we meet again, Lance. Tales of your bravery will be told to my people. Now then, be quick.” 

Lance felt a small twinge of warmth spread through him after the praise. He ducked his head and smiled in return. “I will. Be safe, Axus.” 

Despite all of his grand imaginings, Lance never really expected anyone to throw them a parade, or even a celebration feast. Those were all daydreams and folly, because they didn’t become paladins of Voltron for the praise. Maybe, in the beginning, he had thought of how nice it would be to get a kiss from a pretty alien after a job saving a planet or battling the Galra Empire. But the reality of the war had started to rip those daydreams from his mind. Each time they liberated an enslaved species, came across a dead planet, or lost an ally, the dark reality of what it meant to be entrenched in a real war began to smother him. 

He couldn't fight for himself anymore. He fought for the universe. It was a terrifying thought—especially since his biggest concern used to be how to score higher than Keith on his flight proficiency exams, or how to combat the inevitable stomachache after Garrison Mystery Meat Mondays.

He didn’t really deserve stories of bravery when he had selfishly started this mission to search for Shiro. But Axus’ words spread over him like a big, fluffy blanket regardless. 

When the last of the prisoners disappeared, Lance turned to race back to where Blue waited. Only, when he turned the last corner he felt a searing pain explode in his back that sent him sprawling forward. 

He caught himself with his bad wrist out of habit, and winced as his whole body tensed in agony. The floor was cold beneath him, and he couldn’t figure out why his whole back was on fire. He turned to look over his shoulder. It wasn’t a Sentry that stood there, but two fully-armored Galran soldiers. The one that stepped forward was slightly shorter than the other two, but his armor was more ornate. His face was covered in a mask, the voice that escaped slightly distorted. 

“Bring him to the interrogation chamber. Hail the main ship, and tell them we will be departing shortly with our captive. Draw back the fighters.” Lance blinked past the pain, and his hand moved to fire a blind shot in their direction. It came close enough to the shorter soldier’s mask to leave a tiny crack, and yet he didn't even flinch. 

This one had to be a commander. The others followed his orders like it was absolute. It wasn’t Zarkon, it wasn’t even a druid. But they were definitely Galra. 

Lance felt a warm, sticky patch begin to stick to his back and he realized where the pain had come from. 

Oh. He had been shot. 

One of the soldiers came up to him, and ripped his Bayard out of his hand. His boot came down hard against Lance's bad wrist, and he couldn’t help but cry out and pull away. His mind raced, and he scanned his surroundings for any sign of a way out. His gun was too far out of reach, he had no idea where the others were, and this stupid ship was going to take off with him still on it. 

_Blue. Blue, please. I don’t know if you can hear me, but signal the others. If you can, reach out. I-I might be in a bit of a bind. Okay, yeah, definitely a bind._

Lance knew he was too far for communication. Well, Red was able to sense Keith from even farther away, but their bond was much deeper. Lance didn’t even know if he was doing it right. 

If Blue didn’t hear him, he was going to be—

The soldier that had crushed his wrist under his boot hoisted him up like a sack of flour. Lance twisted and kicked, and threw out his limbs to fight as hard as he could to get away. He managed to wrench himself free, and landed on the ground hard. 

But the commander was on him in an instant, a blade drawn to his throat. “Now, now. You wouldn’t want those poor prisoners you helped to escape to get caught in the crossfire, would you? Be good and I’ll let them free. Fair trade, wouldn’t you say? One life for a dozen?” 

Lance glared at the Galra. “I’ll fair trade _you_.” Okay, not his best comeback. But he was bleeding out, and in a hell of a lot of pain. Using hostages as leverage was dirty, especially when they didn’t have weapons and most of them didn’t even know how to fight.

This time when he was lifted up, Lance only clenched his jaw and glared at the offending soldiers. He wouldn’t tell them anything he wouldn’t—

Oh. He was still under the effects of the truth spell. 

He felt the color drain from his face as he was manhandled, the pain momentarily forgotten. They didn’t know about the truth spell. If they did they could ask him anything. 

Okay, play it cool. Lance breathed in, shallow and sudden. There had to be a way to negate the effects of this thing, he just hadn’t found them yet. 

Lance was dumped unceremoniously onto the ground in a small, round room. He groaned and shifted in an attempt to move, but he felt his arms being yanked behind his back and tied securely into place. He hissed as it put an uncomfortable strain against his injured back and broken wrist.

He glared at the Galra soldier that had put him into some sort of restraints. It was the one that had attacked him earlier. His eyes flickered to the Bayard that this soldier had stolen from him. The soldier grabbed his face and jerked it forward, long claws pierced his skin and Lance felt tiny drops of blood on his cheeks. 

He was going to pummel this guy if that left a scar. 

“I’m going to ask you some questions, boy. It’s in your best interest to answer them,” Lance just leveled the soldier with the iciest look he could manage. But his eyes shifted to the back of the room when he saw the flash of another figure with the tell-tale mask of a druid, and he couldn’t help a small pang of fear. Those things were freaky. 

“What if I don’t want to?” Lance muttered. It was hard when the Galra still had his face gripped tightly in his hand. 

The soldier smirked and hit him so hard Lance felt his body crash sideways with the force. And that didn’t help his concussion any. He saw stars, and not in the good way, as he tried to refocus. 

“Are we clear?” The Galra soldier cracked his knuckles with a smirk, and Lance wanted to punch it off his smug face. 

Instead, he spit blood on the ground and waited. As much as he wanted to use his smart mouth to buy time, he wasn’t sure how much more damage his body could sustain. 

“Why are you on this planet?” The Galra soldier shifted so his body was angled towards Lance. 

Still on the ground, Lance glared at the floor tile. He could feel the warm bubbling sensation in his chest, and he knew the magic was taking effect. He tried to hold his breath, to will himself to say anything else. The words spilled out from his lips unbidden. 

“To…to save the Eluzian refugees that crashed here,” Lance hissed. He ground his teeth together until his jaw hurt. 

“You are the Blue Paladin, are you not?” 

Lance huffed, because hello—wasn’t the armor color a dead giveaway? 

“Why aren’t you fighting alongside your comrades?” 

Lance shifted in an attempt to sit up. His body screamed at him, both the dull ache in his ribs, and the searing burn in his back. But he managed to sit up enough to look the soldier in the eyes. He leveled his glare at the Galra, and scrunched his nose in an attempt to fight the magic again. 

“I—” Lance shook his head and clenched his eyes shut. “I—I was hurt—not supposed to—” 

The soldier huffed, a look of disdain in his eyes. 

“You are weak. Weak and foolish. You come to rescue these prisoners, and for what reason? It will make no difference in your fruitless rebellion.” 

Lance snapped his head up. “Lives aren’t meant to be bartered like currency, or disposed of for cruel amusement in some arena for your _Emperor_! Who—by the way—we defeated!” 

Lance had never really hated anyone in his life. He had disliked people before, but he never had gotten to a point where he outright wished someone harm. Now? Now he could understand what Keith had meant when he said he felt an uncontainable urge to hurt someone. He felt no sympathy for Zarkon, who had enslaved, tortured, and killed thousands in his quest to attain some subjective sense of power and glory. Lance thought of the planets they visited, of the work camps and the stories of the arena competitions. He remembered the sheer look of panic on Shiro’s face in the beginning when the flashbacks returned, stories of bloodshed and psychological torture so powerful that the memories had to be repressed. Lance recalled that image vividly, and he wished Zarkon _was_ dead. 

Lance received a blow to the side of his head for his words. He felt his shoulder smash the cold floor, and his body curled on instinct to protect himself. 

“Insolent, insignificant creature!” The Galra snarled, an animalistic sound ripped deep from his throat. Lance had almost forgotten how physically strong the Galra were. 

After a moment, the soldier seemed to recollect himself. He pulled his hands back. “Never mind. Your mouth will only serve to make this worse. Tell me about your comrades. Without your Black Lion, you are a painfully easy target. A team with no leader is no team at all. I’m curious…” The soldier smirked, “How are you important to your team?” 

Lance hadn’t been expecting the question. He tilted his neck just enough to look in the Galra’s general direction. His lips quirked upwards in a weak attempt at a smirk. 

“I-I dunno. How—how are _you_ important—?” His snarky comment would hurt. But it was worth it, just to fight back in some way. 

The Galra soldier did not look impressed. “I wonder, what do you fear most, Paladin?” The soldier’s tone was dark, almost contemplative. 

Lance wasn’t sure how to answer that one. He thought of his friends. He thought of Shiro’s face twisted in panic, and what kind of horrors he had gone through to make that expression. He thought of Hunk, or Pidge with equal expressions of pain and terror, and his heart lurched in his chest. He thought of Keith, and how small he looked when he confessed he was afraid of what he might become. Lance thought of Earth, and the beautiful sky. He pictured his home as just another conquest, his family ripped apart at the seams, confused and horrified as they fought for their lives against a threat they had no idea existed.

He saw his mom, her dark hair mattered with blood as she held the too-still body of his little sister to her chest and screamed. Lance wanted to reach out and comfort her, to reverse their roles, and to take her into his arms and hold her tight like she used to do whenever he would cry. Even as he grew older, she would hold him in her strong arms and sing until he stopped. His little sister’s head was tilted at an unnatural angle, short brown hair stuck to her small face, body too small and frail in the boy’s sweatshirt she loved to wear. His little Alicia, his Ali that wanted to follow him to the Garrison, that had the biggest crush on Hunk, that could kick his ass in every competitive game. 

Marisa would fight tooth and nail against the Galra. She would scream curses at them, big brown eyes filled with righteous fury. But kickboxing was no match against the inhuman strength and the power of the Galra. They would take her like they did Matt and Shiro, and force her into the arena. They would cut off her gorgeous hair, and mark her like they did with Shiro—a single mark like a brand on her wrist. She would take in the smaller, younger prisoners and try to soothe them. She would hold their hands if the nightmares would come, and tell them everything would be okay.

His dad would stand against the Galra, every bit as tall and confident as his younger self. Even with the burns across his chest and face, even with the prosthetics underneath his clothing, he still radiated strength. He was a dad, and an artist, but he would fight like the hero he had always been to Lance, and take down as many Galra soldiers as he could. But Lance also thought of his studio and the paintings that lined one wall, forever incomplete. Artwork was strangely like human life, sometimes left as an unfinished echo of what could have been. 

The Galra battleships would annihilate entire cities. The military, and even the Garrison would be no match against them. They were too far behind, weapons far too primitive to fight the galactic fleet of an alien empire that had been in power for ten thousand years.

Lance couldn’t see anymore. His line of sight was blurred by the hot tears that came fast and hard, and trailed down his cheeks. He bit his tongue so hard he thought he might bleed, but he refused to say anything to his captor. They would never find Earth, or his family. And he wouldn’t let them have his new family either. 

He raised his eyes in defiance, and despite the tears he put every ounce of strength into his glare. His chest burned with an unnatural caustic heat. It raced along his throat and caused the tears to fall faster, but he refused to speak. He felt the tang of iron in his mouth, and he knew it was blood. 

His whole body was on fire, a searing pain spread along his limbs and deep into his body like a poison. It wasn’t much longer before the soldier became impatient. He gestured towards the druid who glided forward soundlessly. Lance would not give in. He would not—

The druid held up one hand, and a blast of purple energy exploded from their palm like the coil and snap of a massive serpent. Lance threw his head back as the agony of the attack shocked every nerve in his body. A loud scream ripped its way from his throat. 

It wasn’t the first time he had felt the pain of the druid’s magic, but before he was in the shelter of the blue lion. Now there was nothing to buffer the effects, nothing to shield him from the full force of the attack. 

When it stopped, Lance felt his body fall forward. He felt his muscles twitch as the shock slowly wore off. The pain made him vomit. He wasn’t sure if the blood had come from when he bit his tongue or from that burning sensation inside of him when he disobeyed the magic cast on him. Either way, he panicked.

The ship lurched violently then, and Lance found his body on the ground once more. Only this time, the Galra soldier and the druid were also knocked backwards. The lights inside the ship flickered, and a piercing alarm rang out up and down the hallways. 

In a split second, the druid vanished. The soldier spit something out that Lance couldn’t understand—he was probably swearing. Lance blinked sluggishly, and then the Galra ran from the room to check out the reason for the commotion. 

Lance did not waste a second. He prayed that the others had found the ship, but he had no idea if they even knew he was on it. Blue—could Blue have somehow communicated it to them? Lance twisted his arms in the restraints. He pulled and jerked, hands twisted this way and that to try and slip loose. His broken wrist did not make things any easier on him. He hissed and bit his lip as he twisted his other hand in an attempt to work free. Thankfully he had always been flexible. After a few minutes, he twisted his good wrist just enough to create a gap, and then he yanked his arm free. 

Everything hurt. Lance didn’t even know what damage he had taken anymore, his whole body ached. He was surprised he still had the strength to push himself up and move, but he supposed he had adrenaline going for him. For now. 

He didn't have to go far to find the soldier that had interrogated him. The druid is nowhere to be seen, thankfully. But something else was there, a small white figure just behind the Galra soldier. 

Lance’s eyes widened as he recognized the figure—the same alien child he had seen in the jungle when he first landed on the planet. Only he knew it wasn’t a child now. The soldier lunged at the white creature, sword drawn and prepared to attack. 

“Look out!” Lance tried to warn the spirit, despite the fact this whole mess was its fault in the first place. But it turned out he didn’t need to. The creature barely moved one arm, and the Galra soldier reared back as if struck by some invisible force. His weapon flew across the floor as his body slammed into the wall. When he slumped to the ground, Lance had no idea if the guy was alive or not. 

Lance turned fearful eyes towards the alien spirit, sort of concerned he would be the next to get attacked. But instead of malice, he saw something more akin to amusement in those eyes. How this spirit had gotten onto the ship in the first place, or how it had just thrown a fully-grown Galran soldier against a wall with a flick of its wrist, Lance had no idea. The Eluzians called them tricksters, but hell this seemed a little malicious for a prank. Besides, tricksters or not they were miles up in the air. Nope, this was definitely a ghost of some sort. 

Were these tricksters the cause of the ship’s alarms blaring? The white creature spoke. Lance had no idea what it said though, because the words didn’t translate. But unlike before, Lance didn’t think it was because the language was primitive, or that they were words that didn’t translate well. This was an old language. Still, Lance felt like he had an idea of what the spirit was trying to convey. 

It didn’t mean him any harm. Lance swallowed regardless, a bit in awe of the creature in front of him. It was every bit as magical and terrifying as the druids, or the lions themselves.

Somehow, he found himself in front of the small creature, on his knees. He had no idea when he had moved. Lance felt a small paw-like hand on his head, and the same warmth that he had come to associate with the truth spell started to spread through his body. And then, as soon as it had started, it stopped. 

He blinked, and the spirit was gone. Just like that. Nothing had been said exactly, but just like how his lion communicated with feelings and ideas, he knew the alien spirit had lifted the spell it cast on him. 

He was both relieved and incensed when the spirit disappeared. The creature had messed with him _just to mess with him_ , and he had totally spilled everything to Keith because of it. There should have been some sort of rule book for magic, because that had been completely unfair. Lance groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, and tried to ignore the feelings of injustice. He looked over at the Galra soldier on the ground and snatched his Bayard back from him. 

And then the ship gave another horrible lurch. The alarms still blared over all the speakers, and Lance struggled to stand straight. He tried to remember his way back to where he had entered the ship, but the interrogation room had been on an entirely different part of the ship. 

When he ran down another hallway exactly like the first three, he saw the Galra commander from earlier. Lance activated his Bayard at the same time the commander drew his blade. The guy was fast, his movements more fluid than the typical brute force of other Galra. In a way, it reminded Lance of Keith’s fighting style.

Lance cursed as he stumbled out of the way of an attack, the rush of air from the downward momentum too close for his comfort. This guy fought to kill. Hand-to-hand was never Lance’s specialty, his weapon was long-range. And the commander knew it, because he kept close. 

“Geez, can’t you just—” Lance dodged another swing, “Give it a rest?!” The guy was taunting him. Even behind the mask, Lance could feel a mocking smile. 

The weight of his Bayard changed. For a panicked moment, Lance thought he had dropped it, but when he looked down he saw it physically morph. His eyes widened as the weapon formed around his arm, the barrel shorter and wider in the new design. 

What the hell?

It was light in his hands. Instinctively, Lance knew it didn’t pack the range or accuracy as the other design, but it was easier to fire at close range. This one had a chamber, and a quick check revealed six vials in varying colors. 

“Uh,” He fumbled with it for a second before his eyes landed on the white vial. The Galra commander pulled back into an offensive stance, and Lance quickly shut the chamber just as the sword came towards him. Instead of rolling out of the way, Lance threw his arm up and pulled the trigger. There was hardly any recoil on his end, but the Galra commander stumbled back and raised a hand to their shoulder as their sword clattered to the ground. 

And then the commander cried out in shock, his entire body rigid as if he had been electrocuted. Lance pulled back automatically, surprise clear on his features as the figure fell to his knees. 

“Whoa,” Lance took a tentative step back, “So that’s... what that one does.” He turned and ran before the Galra could stand again. So the white vial was like a taser? Maybe a little stronger. Not enough to kill anyone, but enough to buy time. 

“Cool,” He laughed, giddy with a mixture of amazement and panic. He knew the Black Bayard had changed shapes for Zarkon, but Lance never thought he could get his own to do the same. What did the other color vials do?

A jarring noise, loud like metal being ripped from metal, caused Lance to stumble to a stop. He turned just as a piece of the ship was ripped away, and the yellow lion’s head practically collided with him. Lance yelped and threw himself backward. 

The lion opened its mouth and Hunk barreled down towards him. Lance had never been so relieved to see him in his life. He managed a grin before his friend crashed into him and pulled him into the tightest hug Lance had ever suffered. 

“O-Ow, ow, ow,” Lance whimpered, body going ramrod straight as a ripple of acute pain rolled over him. 

“S-sorry!” Hunk pulled back, big brown eyes full of panic. “Oh man, you’re…” He looked Lance up and down, probably taking in Lance’s sorry state. 

“What happened to you? No, never mind. Gotta get you to a healing pod stat.” Hunk threw an arm under Lance’s, and took almost all of his weight onto his back. Which was a good thing, since Lance's legs gave out at that exact moment. The adrenaline slipped away from him like sand through his fingers, and suddenly he could feel the full extent of all of his injuries. 

He bit his lip to keep from crying out, but he made a few whimpers and grunts as he was pulled towards the yellow lion. 

“We saw the fighters retreat, and then the escape pod launched from the prisoner ship. And the blue lion was like, freaking out. I mean, we couldn’t hear it exactly, but the other lions understood. And then we figured out you had gone ahead and…” 

Lance could hear Hunk’s voice, but he couldn’t focus on what he was saying. He blinked and his eyelids drooped as overwhelming fatigue washed over him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Lance knew it was from the blood loss. He could still feel it on his back, the fabric of his paladin suit sticking to the skin. 

“Lance! Stay with me, buddy,” Hunk sounded seriously freaked out. He set Lance down on the floor inside of his lion and his hands went to physically check for injuries. “Oh man, oh crap,” he breathed, “You’ve been shot. Here, we’ve gotta use this. We…” 

“Mm’fine, Hunk…” Lance muttered. He closed his eyes and Hunk’s voice faded. Good, now he could finally rest. He was exhausted. And he was really, really cold. Lance felt hands on his face, and the smallest flicker of warmth start to spread through his body. Yeah, that was nice. Was that a big blanket maybe? 

Lance groaned as the sensation of cold numbness was replaced. The warmth came over him slowly, but it brought the pain back and he didn’t like that. 

He tried to protest, but his mouth didn’t move. Nothing moved. He sort of felt like he was underwater. His eyelids fluttered, and he wondered if this was a dream. He couldn’t hear… anything anymore. Was Hunk still there? 

Lance tried to speak, but he was still too tired. He drifted, his body suspended against something. He didn’t feel like he was in the lion anymore. His thoughts drifted in and out. He heard noises, different tones of voice. So someone was here, or several people. He couldn’t make out what they were saying though. 

And then there was a gentle breeze against his face. He wasn’t floating anymore, and his body fell forward. 

“Lance!” 

He heard someone shout, and then he felt tight arms around his back as he leaned into someone warm. Very warm. He groaned, and slowly opened his eyes. He was in the med-bay on the Castle-ship. When did that happen?

“Lance, buddy!” Hunk raced forward, a look of unbridled relief on his face. 

“You’re finally awake!” Pidge stood beside Hunk, a wide smile on their face. “We were starting to worry that you…” the smile faltered. 

“Ungh,” Lance groaned again. He recognized Keith as the savior that had caught him after he fell out of his healing pod. Keith didn’t say anything, but he tightened his grip on Lance’s back. “How long was I in there?” His voice was sort of scratchy. Man, he was thirsty. 

“A week,” Hunk supplied. “Y’know if we didn’t have the andentite crystals from the Eluzians, I don’t know if we would have gotten you here in time. Uubrek gave me some before Pidge and I headed out right after Allura’s call on the comm. They said we might need them. Even with the crystals, you were in real bad shape. You stopped _breathing_ , and I couldn’t find a pulse—” 

Lance felt himself tense. 

“Oh,” the words hit him like a punch to the gut. 

“Oh?” Keith growled. He dropped Lance to the floor and glared at him. “That’s all you have to say? What the hell were you thinking!?” 

Lance felt his angry retort die on his tongue as soon as he saw Keith’s face. 

“I—I know it was stupid,” Lance couldn’t look at Keith. The accusation, the hurt, the panic were all too much. “I saw the ship and I thought I could sneak onboard and rescue the prisoners before…” he trailed off. 

“You almost got killed! When I saw your lion I thought you had been,” Keith’s voice wavered. Lance knew he deserved the full wrath of his teammates.

“I know, I know! I’m sorry, I put myself and everyone in danger. When I saw the faces of those prisoners, I was so happy. I knew I was doing something good, even if it was just a small act. I might have saved their lives. They might have families on their home planets, and even if my part was small, I could bring them together again. That feeling was amazing—it’s what we’re supposed to be doing as paladins of Voltron! That was the mission! But I realized that… it’s not always something I can do on my own. It wasn’t a team decision, I get that. I was stupid.” 

Lance couldn’t bring himself to stand up. He still awkwardly kneeled on the floor, eyes glued to a tile just to the left of Keith’s boots. He didn’t regret saving those prisoners, each life he saved was one less Zarkon could destroy. But it had been reckless and stupid to go in alone. He had been selfish, and blinded by a desperate hope. 

“Are they okay?” He asked the floor tile. 

“The prisoners from the ship? They’re all safely onboard downstairs. Allura took them in after the prisoner ship crashed. Another escape pod left the ship shortly after I got you,” Hunk took a tentative step forward. 

“What did you do, anyway?” Pidge asked. “One of the prisoners said you broke into the ship and fought the Sentries, and the last they saw you were about to leave in your lion. What happened?” 

Lance sighed. “I got shot. Some asshole hit me from behind.” 

Hunk reached out a hand and Lance gratefully accepted it and pulled himself up. “There were two Galra soldiers and a druid. They had those masks as usual, but I’m pretty sure the one was leading this operation. I don’t think they came here for the Eluzians, or even for Kestia. I think they came here for us. Maybe they’re angry over Zarkon? I don’t think the big guy’s dead, exactly, but he’s definitely not the one in charge anymore. This new guy might be vying for the top spot. And he was good, too. His fighting style was fluid, more precise. I get the feeling he’s been fighting for a long time.” 

Lance struggled to find the right words. “This whole situation seemed weird, like why would they send in two ships? This guy wasn’t even on the main ship; it was almost like that one was a decoy. The prisoner ship didn’t go for the Eluzian camp, and there wasn’t anything really useful in the abandoned base Keith and I found. They came here for us, but how did they even find us? I mean, Zarkon might not be dead but he’s probably too hurt to order anything, and his link should have been severed anyway.” 

Lance crossed his arms over his chest, tired mind going in circles. “Somehow they knew where we would be, and they set this as a—oh,” Lance’s eyes widened as the final piece clicked into play. “This was a trap. They wanted to separate us on purpose.”

“Yeah, and you fell right into it,” Keith muttered. He mimicked Lance’s pose and crossed his arms, shoulders tense. 

Lance flinched. He hadn’t meant to. 

“Wait,” Hunk held up a hand and frowned, “D’you think the Galra made the Eluzian ship crash or something to get us out here? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just, I don’t know, attack their ship?” 

Pidge shook their head, eyes focused on something far away as gears continued to click in their mind. “No, I don’t think so. Hunk, you said the ship was in dire need of repair, the damage was definitely done over a long period of time without proper maintenance. They fled on that ship—they’ve been using it for years. I don’t think the Galra thought that far in advance.” 

“So, they’re tracking us another way?” Hunk leaned back against one of the healing pods and looked between Pidge and Lance. 

Pidge sighed. "The Galra Empire may have lost Zarkon, but it’s still a power that’s been in place for ten thousand years. There is a Plan B, even a Plan C. There’s no doubt a line of succession, and figures with just as much power and cunning below Zarkon. They’ve been watching us, analyzing our strategies. They probably knew that we would react to the distress signals sent out.”

“They’re using the distress signals to figure out where we’ll show up next,” Lance mumbled. He drew his arms tighter. “Using others as live bait.” There was a beat of heavy silence in the air. 

Hunk broke the silence first. “I guess we got lucky they didn’t think about the planet’s atmosphere, then. That weird radiation blast knocked their systems down long enough for Allura to destabilize the ion cannons and piece the hull. Otherwise the plan might have worked.” 

Lance beamed. “Seriously? It reached all the way outside of the atmosphere? I was aiming for the prison ship, but I guess it went a little wider than I figured.” 

All three of them turned to stare at him. “Uh, well the sonic blaster doesn’t work great on planets like this, but I thought I could change it a bit? When the alien spirit used their magic on me, it affected Blue to the point she shut down completely. I think it was a side effect, y’know cause the atmosphere is so thin or whatever? Magic is like energy, sort of? It was all, _woosh_ ,” Lance moved his arms energetically, excited his splint was off and he could talk like normal. “So I tried to mimic the same thing using our quintessence like...” Lance snapped his fingers as he tried to think of the right phrasing. 

Pidge’s expression shifted from one of confusion to excitement. “You created a MASER!” Lance blinked as he looked over at them. “You excited the molecules in the atmosphere using your combined quintessence, and directed the radiation blast towards the spaceship to short-circuit the Galra tech!”

“Uh, sure,” Lance rubbed the back of his neck, “I guess?”

“Lance,” Pidge laughed. “I’m… actually impressed. That was really cool.” 

“Whoa,” Hunk beamed and lit up as brightly as Pidge had. “That’s awesome, man! We thought it was Kestia’s star releasing a flare, but it didn’t affect any of our equipment so we couldn’t figure it out.” 

“Makes sense, now,” Pidge hummed, “I bet Blue Lion was able to prevent the attack from affecting us somehow. I still don’t fully understand the nature of quintessence, but Blue must have done something to make sure we weren't hit. Both the Castle-ship and our lions were unaffected.”

Lance ducked his head as he felt his cheeks warm up. “I-It was pretty awesome, wasn't it? But, Blue did all the hard work.” He chanced a small glance at Keith. The red paladin looked at him with surprise and something else, pride maybe? But when he was caught, he quickly masked his expression. 

Lance felt his mood deflate just as quickly. 

Hunk shared a quick look with Pidge, a silent communication. “I’ll go tell Allura and Coran you’re okay. You should try and eat something later, when you feel like it. It’s been a week, after all.” 

Lance nodded. He didn’t feel like eating. He was just tired, but he didn’t want to sleep anymore. Not when he had to patch things up with Keith. 

“I’m going to talk to the prisoners again, see if they know anything else about the rebels,” Pidge glanced between Lance and Keith, and Lance knew the two of them were giving them space. Lance sent silent waves of gratitude to them both. 

When the other two paladins left the med-bay, Lance looked over at Keith. 

“What happened to you in there?” Keith muttered. He did not meet Lance’s eyes when he spoke. 

Lance frowned. “You sure you want to hear it?” Keith didn’t need to hear about how he had been hurt back there. Lance wasn’t even sure he wanted to relive it by telling him. When Keith lifted his head to finally meet Lance’s gaze, there was indecision and hurt in his expression. 

“You could have died,” Keith repeated his words from earlier. But this time, his voice cracked. 

Lance swallowed the lump in his throat. Honestly, he had been terrified. Everything had gone perfectly until he had been shot. If he had died, they would have to replace two paladins. He didn’t want to do that to his team, he didn’t want to do that to his family back home either. Even if he wasn’t sure he would ever see them again. 

“That was more of a ‘you’ thing back there. Except you don’t wind up in the healing pod at the end of the day,” Lance muttered bitterly. Maybe Keith’s bad habits had rubbed off on him. 

“Lance!” Keith threw his hands to his sides as he stormed forward. Lance could see the untamed fury in his dark eyes, and for a second Lance was convinced Keith might start throwing punches. He didn’t, but Lance flinched under that look regardless. “Do you even know how worried I was about you? You didn’t have your comm, and I had no way of knowing what had even happened to you!” 

Keith’s voice boomed, louder and sharper than Lance had ever heard it. Even in their most intense fights, Keith had managed to keep a relatively normal tone of voice. He was seriously upset, he was seriously _angry_.

Lance’s first response was guilt. He hadn’t meant to make Keith feel that way. But his second response was anger. Because okay, he had felt that way plenty of times when Keith had done the exact same thing, and he never went off the deep end like this. 

“Look, I said I was sorry! I didn’t mean to make you feel like that—I know how it hurts because I feel it all the time when you do something just as reckless and stupid!” Lance squared his shoulders as he shouted. “Like when you went to fight Zarkon by yourself, or when you and Allura took off by yourselves without telling the rest of the team, or maybe when you were gone for _two damn days_ when you visited the Blade of Marmora’s base? When Red started to attack, I thought something had happened to you, too! Shiro told me later what happened in there—that you almost collapsed from sheer exhaustion. So I know what I did was stupid, but I’m not the only one here that’s made mistakes!” 

Keith’s expression only faltered for a second. His jaw clenched, but to Lance’s surprise he didn’t shout back. Instead, his voice sounded too small and faraway. 

“You’re right,” Those words hadn’t been what Lance was expecting. “I’ve done a lot of stupid things. And it’s probably not fair for me to feel like this, but you can’t just confess you like someone and then put your life on the line! Besides, you said you would always be there with me if I wanted you. And I… I do want you.” Keith looked uncharacteristically fragile, the words hard to say but put out there all the same. His voice dropped to nothing more than a breathless whisper. “So, just promise me you won’t do something like that again?” 

Lance felt as if all the air had been knocked out of him. He stared at Keith, and then nodded. “Promise. But… you have to promise me the same thing.” 

Keith sighed. He sounded as tired as Lance felt. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” 

The air was still heavy between them, but the silence wasn’t as uncomfortable. Lance’s fingers twitched and he longed to lean forward, bring his arms around Keith, and be embraced in return. Lance felt hollow inside. But he didn’t know how to ask, and it didn’t look like Keith was going to make a move. 

When Keith turned, Lance was sure he was going to leave. Lance curled in on himself, the ache in his chest simply something that a healing pod couldn’t patch up. He made a small sound, and Keith stopped to look back at him. 

And then Lance felt tentative arms around his back. Keith was stiff and a little uncertain, but Lance didn’t care. He threw his own arms around Keith and gripped him tightly. He buried his face in the crook of Keith’s shoulders and breathed him in. He was warm, and solid, and even though his hair tickled the bridge of Lance’s nose, he never wanted to let go. 

Keith seemed to relax after a few seconds, and his fingers gripped the back of Lance’s healing suit as if holding onto the final fleeting remnants of a dream. Lance wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but he began to feel his world stabilize itself in those arms. Maybe if he could just have this, then saving the universe wouldn’t be so terrifying after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m not a scientist. I’m a writer. But quintessence is sort of magical, and this is a show about flying robot lions, please don’t take it too seriously. Pidge can hack something with a few swipes of their finger, what even is science in this show. The next chapter will probably be the last, though I may add in an epilogue. But there is a sequel in the works, a very long and detailed sequel that I’ve been excited about for months.
> 
> Send me questions for this story, or future prompts, or anything you want really.


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